It stretches from Kutarere and the eastern shore of Ōhiwa Harbour in the west to Cape Runaway in the north-east, and south from Ōpōtiki town up the Waioeka River into the Raukumara Range.

The district stretches from Kutarere and the eastern shore of Ōhiwa Harbour in the west to Cape Runaway in the north-east, and south from Ōpōtiki town up the Waioeka River.

A remnant sea-level stand of an alpine southern beech (Nothofagus solandri) exists at the head of Ohiwa Harbour,[11] a drowned Ice Ages valley system.

Coastal forest consists of pōhutukawa trees, nikau palms, and many small shrubs belonging to genera such as Pseudopanax, Coprosma etc.

Of particular note are a daisy-flowered shrub Olearia pachyphylla endemic to the district, and the rare large-flowered broom Carmichaelia williamsii.

The canopy is dominated by tall trees such as tawa, pūriri and pukatea heavily populated by epiphytes (ferns, lily and orchid families) and lianas which include a pandanaceous climber (kiekie).

The lower river valleys and adjacent tablelands provide productive farming areas, whilst exotic plantings for commercial timber (mainly pinus radiata) occur on the fringes of the hill country.

[13] Introduced animal species considered to be pests (deer, pig, goat, possum) are common in the forested areas and feral sheep and cattle can be found as ‘escapees’ from adjacent farmland.

The district is rich in sea life such as molluscs (pipi, tuatua, kina, scallop), crayfish, edible fish such as snapper, kahawai and gurnard.

The first known inhabitants of the district were probably members of the Tini o Toi people, who apparently derived from the Tākitimu waka which came to the Whakatāne area from Taranaki.

There followed, perhaps a few generations later, the Tainui and Te Arawa people, from the first of which the present Ngaitai tribe claim direct descent.

One of the earliest Whakatōhea ancestors, Tarawa, deliberately concealed his origins and claimed to have swum to the district from across the sea, supported by supernatural fish he called his pets or children (‘pōtiki’).

Although the Ōpōtiki iwi had begun to acquire firearms by that time, they were outgunned and had to retreat from the coast to the rugged forested interior.

The Māori tribes took up European agricultural methods and crops, primarily wheat, pigs and peaches, which were traded with Auckland.

[24] In accordance with Māori custom, utu (revenge) was taken by killing the missionary Völkner, who had been recruited as an agent by the British Governor, Sir George Grey, and who had been transmitting secret reports.

[26] Within a few years, the Ōpōtiki district had been settled by military settlers, and the Maori tribes had been confined to villages with little land attached.

[29] When peace eventually came to the district, most of the cultivable land had been taken by British settlers and was converted to sheep and cattle (later dairy) farming.

The district lost men to the two World Wars, but an even greater blow was the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918–1919 which devastated small villages.

[30] Because of the relatively small area of cultivable hinterland and a treacherous harbour entrance, early hopes of Ōpōtiki town becoming a major centre for the region were dashed.

During the twentieth century, the town suffered from repeated shifts of businesses and local government to Whakatāne, a situation which has only begun to reverse very recently with increasing population.

Mussel farming is the next project to develop the town, alongside kiwifruit and bike riding on the Motu trail becoming popular with locals and tourists.