Ōtara

Ōtara
The central section of Fish Canopy, a 1987 sculpture in the Ōtara Town Centre
Coordinates: 36°57′39″S 174°52′28″E / 36.96083°S 174.87444°E / -36.96083; 174.87444
CountryNew Zealand
CityAuckland
Local authorityAuckland Council
Electoral wardManukau ward
Local boardŌtara-Papatoetoe Local Board
Area
  Land680 ha (1,680 acres)
Population
 (June 2024)
  Total
24,420
Ōtāhuhu East Tāmaki East Tāmaki
Middlemore
Ōtara
Flat Bush
Papatoetoe Clover Park Clover Park

Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of the rohe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and the name Ōtara refers to Ōtara Hill / Te Puke ō Tara, a former Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki 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 in the 1950s, Ōtara developed as a suburb, primarily as part of a state housing project by the New Zealand Government.