Early history Until the 1860s Ōtorohanga was a
Ngāti Maniapoto village, with several
whare (houses), peach trees and a flour mill. which was the site of a skirmish in 1822 between Ngāti Maniapoto and
Ngāpuhi. The village was abandoned after the
invasion of the Waikato, except for Lewis Hettit's (or Hetet) farm. The area remained insecure, with Hettit's store being robbed by
Te Kooti in 1869, but a meeting with
Donald McLean later that year signalled moves towards peace.
John William Ellis became postmaster and opened a store in 1885 with
Henry Valder and John Taonui Hetet. In 1886 Ngāti Maniopoto built a court room for the
Native Land Court and from that year mail was delivered 3 times a month and disputes which had delayed development were settled. On 9 March 1887 the railway was extended from
Te Awamutu and a 14-room hotel was built, primarily for those attending the Court. The sawmill, later run by
Ellis and Burnand, started in 1890 and closed in 1912.
Modern history In the early 1900s many businesses were established by Māori, in particular John Ormsby (Hōne Ōmipi). The Otorohanga Times was formed in 1912; it merged with the King Country Chronicle to form the Waitomo News in 1980. McDonald’s began a limestone quarry south of Otorohanga in 1968, which was bought by
Graymont in 2015. Otorohanga’s population grew from 367 in 1916 to 1,569 in 1951, after which growth slowed. Although population dropped from 2,652 in 1991 and to 2,514 in 2013, the fall was much less than in the rest of King Country. As a show of solidarity for Henry Harrod, and in anticipation of actions against other similar-sounding businesses, it was proposed that every business in Otorohanga change its name to "Harrods". With the support of
Ōtorohanga District Council, the town temporarily changed its name to Harrodsville. After being lampooned in the British
tabloids, Al Fayed dropped the legal action and Harrodsville and its shops reverted to their former names. The town's response raised widespread media interest around the world, with the
BBC World Service and newspapers in Greece, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada covering the story.
Floods Ōtorohanga is built on a flood plain of the
Waipā River. Houses were flooded in 1893 1926 and 2026 and the whole town was flooded in 1907. It is now largely protected by
stop banks built between 1961 and 1966, following a major flood in 1958. However, in 2004 Ōtorohanga Primary School on the outskirts of the town was flooded by about of water and children were temporarily transferred to the then recently closed Tihiroa Primary School, about north of Ōtorohanga on
SH31. == Local government ==