Located in the Great Southern region, 328km south-east of Perth, Tenterden boasts a rich landscape of agricultural farmlands and picturesque rolling hills leading into the majestic Stirling National Parkland Ranges.

Although not one of the original sidings when the Great Southern Railway was opened in 1889, a siding was established at Tenterden by 1891. That same year, the government opened up agricultural land adjacent to the siding by declaring the Tenterden Agricultural Area and in 1893 part of this land was gazetted as the townsite of Tenterden.

Both Tenterden and nearby Cranbrook are named after towns of the same name in Kent, England. They are believed to have been named by Mr J A Wright, who was manager of the Western Australian Land Company which built the railway.

Just outside Tenterden is Lake Nunijup, a popular spot used today for water skiing and swimming.