Douglas is a lowly populated locality[1] and a rural centre in east Taranaki, surrounded by dairy, sheep and beef pastoral farming.

Douglas is centred on the Toko Stream adjacent to a small saddle crossed by Ohura Road to the east.

The reclaimed swamplands of the upper Toko valley are the dominant geographic feature, running from the north to the south-west of Douglas, at approximately 200m above sea level.

The current town was established at the turn of the 20th century and its hinterland cleared for pastoral farming.

Through the first half of the century Douglas was a lively village with a productive brick kiln, a milk factory, a railway station, a store, a number of other businesses, and a church.

The Douglas Boarding House, which still stands today, served as an important stopping point for eastbound travellers making the long journey through difficult terrain to Whangamōmona or Taumarunui.

Douglas statistical area, which takes in those localities within the Pātea and Waitara river catchments to the east of Toko, also including Strathmore, Huiakama, Te Wera, Pohokura, Huiroa, Kiore, Matau, Tututawa, Puniwhakau and Makahu, covers 1,010.46 km2 (390.14 sq mi)[4] and had an estimated population of 740 as of June 2024,[5] with a population density of 0.73 people per km2.