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Other towns and settlements in the region include Kurow, on the south bank of the Waitaki, and Maheno, Herbert, Waianakarua, Hampden, and Moeraki, all close to the coast south of Oamaru.
The area aspired to provincial status in the 19th century, but never attained this. Most of its territory belonged to the Waitaki County, and subsequently to the Waitaki District Council. Some sense of regional identity survives in support of sport, notably the North Otago rugby team. In recent years this sense of identity has been tested by repeated suggestions that the towns of Omarama and Kurow should become part of Canterbury.
The rolling, tussock -clad hill country of North Otago provides the important agricultural base. The generation of hydro-electricity in the Waitaki Valley has also drawn attention to the area.