Ōtara
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Ōtara is a suburb of
South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
(formerly
Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...
), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the
Auckland City Centre The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson on land gifted by ''ma ...
. Ōtara lies near the head of the
Tāmaki River The Tāmaki River or Tāmaki Estuary is mostly an estuarial arm and harbour of the Hauraki Gulf, within the city of Auckland in New Zealand.
. The area is traditionally part of the
rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...
of
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori people, Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, New Zealand, Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective ...
, and the name Ōtara refers to Ōtara Hill / Te Puke ō Tara, a former Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
and volcanic hill to the north of the suburb. From 1851 to 1910 the area was part of the Goodfellow family farm, and during the 1910s the area was an agricultural college run by the Dilworth Trust. After the construction of the
Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State High ...
in the 1950s, Ōtara developed as a suburb, primarily as part of a state housing project by the
New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
.


Etymology

Ōtara, meaning "The Place of Tara", is a shortened form of Ōtara Hill / Te Puke ō Tara, the volcanic hill previously found to the north of the suburb. The hill is either named for the
Waiohua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (for ...
ancestor and taniwha of the
Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
, Tara-mai-nuku, or for the 19th century paramount chief of
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori people, Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, New Zealand, Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective ...
, Tara Te Irirangi. An earlier name applied to the area was ''Ngā Kopi o Toi'' ('The Karaka Berries of Toi'), named for a karaka grove said by tradition to have been brought to Tamaki from the
Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...
and planted in the vicinity of Greenmount by
Toi-te-huatahi Toi-te-huatahi, also known as Toi and Toi-kai-rākau, is a legendary Māori people, Māori ''tupuna'' (ancestor) of many Māori people, Māori iwi (tribes) from the Bay of Plenty area, including Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāi Tūhoe. The B ...
. During European settlement, the name Ōtara became associated with the area in the 1850s.


Geography

Ōtara is found in South Auckland at the south-eastern headlands of the
Tāmaki River The Tāmaki River or Tāmaki Estuary is mostly an estuarial arm and harbour of the Hauraki Gulf, within the city of Auckland in New Zealand.
, primarily to the north-east of the
Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State High ...
. The Ōtara Creek runs through the suburb, becoming a tidal estuary of the Tāmaki River in the north. There are two features of the
Auckland Volcanic Field The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located in the North Island. The approximately 53 volcanoes in the field have produced a divers ...
in the area. Pukewairiki is an estuary of the Ōtara Creek and a volcanic
maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...
that erupted an estimated 130,000 years ago. Ōtara Hill / Te Puke o Tara is a volcano located to the north in
East Tāmaki East Tāmaki is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is a largely industrial area adjacent to a rapidly growing population. Prior to the 1960s it was largely a dairy farming area. A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of ...
that erupted an estimated 56,500 years ago, and was quarried in the mid-20th century. Lava flows from the hill flowed as far south as the Ōtara Town Centre.


Climate


History


Māori history

The Ōtara area is part of the
rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...
of
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori people, Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, New Zealand, Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective ...
, who descend from the crew of the ''
Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...
'' migratory waka, who visited the area around the year 1300. The mouth of the Tāmaki River was traditionally known as ("The Waters of Tāiki"), named after the Ngāi Tai ancestor Tāiki. Tāiki settled with his followers along the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River, alongside the descendants of Huiārangi of the early
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
Te Tini ō Maruiwi. The upper reaches of the river near modern was traditionally known as , referring to Mokoikahikuwaru, a protector taniwha of the ''Tainui'' waka who is described in legends as taking up residence at the Panmure Basin. The area is close to the portages where waka could be easily taken over land between the
Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
and
Tāmaki River The Tāmaki River or Tāmaki Estuary is mostly an estuarial arm and harbour of the Hauraki Gulf, within the city of Auckland in New Zealand.
, including Te Tō Waka at
Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tāmaki River estuary to the east. The Auckland isthmus is the narrowest connect ...
and Waokauri / Pūkaki portage at
Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...
. Ngāi Tai created extensive cultivations along the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River. The area around (Ōtara Creek) and Ōtara Hill / Te Puke ō Tara was home to the extensive stonefield gardens and a fortified
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
, occupied up until the early 19th century. Over time, with the emergence and expansion of later hapū/sub group of Iwi and iwi identities, Ngāti Tai occupying the area of Tara became closely interlinked by marriages with Te Akitai, Ngāti Tamaoho and Ngāti Kahu of the Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) confederation of tribes known collectively as Te Wai ō Hua, and with the Hauraki Gulf peoples of
Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki Gulf islands ...
and Ngāti Tamaterā, among others. The Ngāti Pāoa chieftain Hauauru noted in 1851 that by the mid-1830s Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Tamaterā and Te Akitai had competing interests in Ōtara. While all of these groups hold ancestral relationships to the Ōtara area, Ngāi Tai continue to retain recognised
mana whenua In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that translates to "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people who's common ancestors are bur ...
status. During the
Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
in the 1820s, Ngāi Tai sought temporary refuge in the
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
. When English missionary William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied. In 1836, William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs covering the majority of modern-day
South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...
and
East Auckland East Auckland () is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Settled in the 14th century, the area is part of the traditional lands of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The area was developed into farmland in the ...
. The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in the area, unchanged by this sale. In 1854 when Fairburn's purchase was investigated by the
New Zealand Land Commission The New Zealand Land Commission was a 19th-century government inquiry into the validity of claims to land purchases by European settlers from the New Zealand Māori people made prior to 1840, when New Zealand was part of the Australian colony of New ...
, a Ngāi Tai reserve was created around the Wairoa River and Umupuia areas, and as a part of the agreement, members of Ngāi Tai agreed to leave their traditional settlements to the west.


European settlement

In 1851, William Goodfellow purchased Otara Farm along the south-eastern shores of the Tāmaki River, where he built a homestead. William and Ann Goodfellow were some of the very first migrants to Auckland, New Zealand in 1840 on the ship the Lady Lilford. The Goodfellows were joined by Reverend Gideon Smales, who settled a block purchased from the Government in 1856 at East Tāmaki. The wider East Tāmaki area was predominantly farmland where crops such as wheat were grown, and in the late 19th century the area began converting into dairy farms. In 1861, Governor
George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...
ordered the construction of the Great South Road further south into the
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
, to improve supply lines through swampy and thickly forested country, prior to the
Invasion of the Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...
. On 9 July 1863, due to fears of the Māori King Movement, Governor Grey proclaimed that all Māori living in the South Auckland area needed to swear loyalty to the Queen and give up their weapons. Most people refused due to strong links to Tainui, leaving for the south. During this time, the Te Ākitai Waiohua
rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the leaders (often hereditary) of a (subtribe or clan). Ideally, were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land ( ...
Īhaka Takaanini was arrested and died on Rakino Island. After the war, the Crown confiscated 1.2 million acres of Māori land around the
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
, including Waiohua land in South Auckland, and Ngāi Tai land in East Auckland, despite Ngāi Tai being considered "friendly" people by the Crown and not asked to leave the region. In 1910, the Goodfellow family sold their farm to the Dilworth Trust, who established the Dilworth Ulster Institute School of Agriculture in 1915. Few people attended the agricultural college, which closed in 1918. In 1919, the Dilworth Trust subdivided the property, and in 1950 sold much of the land to the Ministry of Works, who established the Otara Fertiliser Research Station at the site of the former school. In 1929, the Waitemata Brewery was constructed on the corner of Bairds Road and Great South Road, later becoming
DB Breweries DB Breweries is a New Zealand–based brewing company, owned by Heineken Asia Pacific. Founded in 1930 by Sir Henry Kelliher and W Joseph Coutts, the partners purchased Levers and Co. and the Waitemata Brewery Co. in Ōtāhuhu. Asia Pacific Br ...
.


State housing development

The development of the
Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State High ...
in the mid-1950s led to an explosion in the population of
Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...
and
Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...
to the south. To counter overcrowding in the central suburbs, the New Zealand Government undertook large scale state housing developments, creating planned suburbs. Ōtara was chosen as a site for a state housing project due to its proximity to the motorway and the industrial areas of
Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tāmaki River estuary to the east. The Auckland isthmus is the narrowest connect ...
and Penrose, and it was the second large-scale state housing development in Auckland aimed at low-income families, centred around a retail and community centre, following Glen Innes. In August 1958, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Works and the Manukau County Council to develop Ōtara, and within 10 years over 3,000 houses had been built. In June 1958, Otahuhu Foodtown, the first supermarket in New Zealand, was opened by Tom Ah Chee in the future site of Ōtara, who pooled his resources with two other Auckland produce shop owners, Norman Kent and John Brown. The Ōtara Town Centre was officially opened in 1966. In 1968, the Otahuhu Power Station was opened in Ōtara, which at the time was the largest gas turbine in Australasia, and operated until 2016. In 1970, the Otara Fertiliser Research Station was redeveloped into Manukau Institute of Technology's Ōtara campus, and in 1972 the Ngāti Ōtara Marae was officially opened. In 1987, the Ōtara Town Centre was redeveloped, with the sculpture ''Fish Canopy'' by architect Rewi Thompson. Inspired by Pasifika fale and constructed in the shape of a fish.


Demographics

Ōtara covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Ōtara had a population of 21,711 in the
2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, a decrease of 1,161 people (−5.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 972 people (4.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 10,674 males, 10,977 females and 60 people of other genders in 4,659 dwellings. 1.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 27.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 5,895 people (27.2%) aged under 15 years, 5,868 (27.0%) aged 15 to 29, 8,283 (38.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,668 (7.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 10.2% European (
Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 21.8%
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
; 78.4% Pasifika; 7.4% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 0.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 89.7%, Māori language by 5.7%, Samoan by 27.4%, and other languages by 17.0%. No language could be spoken by 2.7% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 35.1, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 65.1%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 1.1%
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 1.1%
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 2.3%
Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 0.5%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.1%
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, and 0.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 21.4%, and 8.1% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,023 (6.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 7,776 (49.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 7,020 (44.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $29,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 348 people (2.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 6,984 (44.2%) people were employed full-time, 1,362 (8.6%) were part-time, and 1,101 (7.0%) were unemployed.


Notable places

*The D.S.I.R buildings are located on Otara Road. The buildings were constructed in 1916 to the design of Richard Atkinson Abbot. The buildings were purchased by the D.S.I.R in 1950.


Notable people

* Len Brown, first Auckland "Super City" Mayor and former
Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...
Mayor prior to the "Super City" merge *
Pauly Fuemana Paul Lawrence Fuemana (8 February 1969 – 31 January 2010) was a New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician from Auckland. One of the first globally successful pioneers of his country's unique style of hip-hop, Fuemana was one of New Zealand's ...
of OMC, recording artist who achieved global success with the hit, " How Bizarre" *
Tau Henare Raymond Tau Henare (born 29 September 1960) is a former New Zealand Māori people, Māori parliamentarian. In representing three different political parties in parliament—New Zealand First, Mauri Pacific and the New Zealand National Party, Na ...
, 38th Minister for Māori Affairs and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
with the National Party * Sid Diamond and Deach, hip-hop artists and members of Smashproof * "The Beast" Manu Vatuvei, rugby league player for the Vodafone Warriors and the Kiwis *
Tina Cross Tina Marie Cross (born 27 January 1959) is a New Zealand singer. She sang the winning entry in the 1979 Pacific Song Contest, and was the lead vocalist of synthpop band, Koo De Tah, whose single " Too Young for Promises" was a top ten hit in Au ...
, entertainer * Rawiri Paratene, actor *
Beulah Koale Beulah Koale () is a New Zealand actor best known for portraying Officer Junior Reigns in CBS reboot series '' Hawaii Five-0''. Early life Koale was born at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, and was raised in the nearby suburb of Ōtara. He is o ...
, actor * "The Tongan Goddess" Nailini Helu, the world's first Tongan female professional boxer * Efeso Collins, politician who served on Auckland Council with the
New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...
and as a Member of Parliament as a member of the
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (), commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a Green politics, green List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillar ...
.


Culture

The suburb achieved a mild degree of worldwide fame with the one-off hit single " How Bizarre", by hip-hop artists OMC. "OMC" stands for "Otara Millionaires' Club". Ōtara is also known for its Saturday morning '
flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
' held in the Ōtara shopping centre car park next to the South Campus of Manukau Institute of Technology. The Ōtara Markets first started in the late 1970s, and are the largest street market in New Zealand. Ōtara long had some of the highest crime rates of the country, but recently a major action against the Tribesmen and Killer Beez gangs (in 2008), and 2010s increases in police force numbers in the area, combined with a
community policing Community policing is a philosophy and organizational strategy whereby law enforcement cooperates with community groups and citizens in producing safety and security. The theory underlying community policing is that it makes citizens more likely t ...
approach, have been credited with both reducing crime and establishing less hostile attitudes between the locals and the police.


Education

Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate consists of three schools on a single campus. The Junior School catering for years 1–6 has a roll of ; the Middle School, years 7 and 8, has students; and the Senior School catering for Years 9–13 has . Hillary College, Bairds Intermediate and Clydemore Primary School are the three schools that now form Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate.
Tangaroa College Tangaroa College is a state coeducational secondary school catering for years 9–13 in Ōtara, Auckland, New Zealand. Scholarships On a yearly basis Tangaroa College receives 20 exclusive scholarships from the Manukau Institute of Technology ...
is a secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of . The Tangaroa College Teen Parent Unit shares its campus. Ferguson Intermediate is an intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of . Bairds Mainfreight Primary School, Dawson School, East Tāmaki School, Flat Bush School, Mayfield School, Rongomai School, Wymondley Road School and Yendarra School are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of , , , , , , and students, respectively. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Otara is a
Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...
full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of . St John the Evangelist Catholic School is a state-integrated full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of . All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of Ōtara is also home to Manukau Institute of Technology's two main campuses.


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Photographs of Ōtara
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Otara Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Area Suburbs of Auckland Populated places on the Tāmaki River