PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Auckland since early 1970s

The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman Sea in the west. It comprises hill country, large parts of which are forested.

The term King Country dates from the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s, when colonial forces invaded the Waikato and forces of the Maori King Movement withdrew south of what was called the aukati, or boundary, a line of pa alongside the Puniu River near Kihikihi. Land behind the aukati remained native territory, with Europeans warned they crossed it under threat of death.