Te Kà «iti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk railway, south of Hamilton. The town promotes itself as the sheep shearing capital of the world and is host to the annual New Zealand National Shearing Championships.
Te Kà «iti is approximately 80 km south of Hamilton and 19 km south-east of Waitomo. The area around Te Kà «iti, commonly known as the King Country, gives its name to the Heartland Championship rugby team based in Te Kà «iti.
Te Kà «iti is the MÃÂori name given to the area. In its original form of "Te Kà «ititanga", it literally means "the valley", "the squeezing in" or "the narrowing".
Several marae are located in and around Te Kà «iti, associated with NgÃÂti Maniapoto hapà «:
Limestone deposits and water have created the Waitomo Caves, northwest of the town, one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist locations. The town itself is located in a valley with many rich limestone deposits. The Manga-o-Kewa Stream runs through the valley and is a tributary of the WaipàRiver. Te Kà «iti's hinterland consist mainly of farmland and limestone quarries. The land surrounding Te Kà «iti has steep hilly relief which reflects the nature of the North King Country region. The climate of Te Kà «iti is wet during the winter and dry during the late summer with an average of 1,450mm of rainfall each year.
Stats NZ describes Te Kà «iti as a small urban area which covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.
Te Kà «iti had a population of 4,659 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 87 people (1.9%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 402 people (9.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,298 males, 2,349 females, and 12 people of other genders in 1,638 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,035 people (22.2%) aged under 15 years, 852 (18.3%) aged 15 to 29, 1,935 (41.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 837 (18.0%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 50.9% European; 54.2% MÃÂori; 6.6% Pasifika; 7.6% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.0%, MÃÂori by 15.2%, Samoan by 1.9%, and other languages by 6.3%. No language could be spoken by 2.6% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 27.6% Christian, 1.4% Hindu, 1.4% Islam, 5.8% MÃÂori religious beliefs, 0.6% Buddhist, 0.6% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.2%, and 9.0% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 390 (10.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,887 (52.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,338 (36.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $31,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 132 people (3.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 1,641 (45.3%) full-time, 456 (12.6%) part-time, and 177 (4.9%) unemployed.
The "Shearing Capital of the World" contains the world's largest shearer, seven metres high. On 1 April 2006 the largest sheep show in the world took place here, with more than 2000 sheep.
The carved Te meeting house was gifted to the local MÃÂori people (NgÃÂti Maniapoto) by Te Kooti, a prominent 19th-century MÃÂori leader and founder of the Ringatà « faith. He was given sanctuary by the chiefs of Maniapoto against the white colonial Government of New Zealand and under Maniapoto's protection carved one of the most famous and important late 19th century spiritual houses in the North Island. This house is central to Te Kà «iti's historical foundation, also referred to as the epicentre of the Rohe Pà Âtae or "King Country". In 1881 the last frontier was opened to colonial settlers.
The Tatsuno Japanese Garden is at the southern end of the main street.
The Mangaokewa reserve located 5 km south of Te Kà «iti is a popular attraction for rock climbers, hikers, picnic goers, swimmers and trout fisherman in the region.
A 'Revitalisation Project' for the NZHPT Category II listed Te Kuiti railway station was started in 2014 to provide for arts and crafts groups, an education centre, youth projects, historical displays and a meeting room. The Rail Heritage Trust describes the station as, "the finest remaining example of a standard class B station".
Te Kà «iti is the home of the Waitete Rugby Football Club and the King Country Rugby Union, both of whom are based at Rugby Park. The famous Colin Meads spent the entirety of his career with both Waitete and King Country. The town also has an association football club, Te Kuiti Albion Football Club, who play in the Deacon Shield tournament. They play their home games at Centennial Park where there is a small clubroom. The club colours are yellow and black striped shirts and black shorts.
Te Kà «iti has six schools:
All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of