Otara

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Otara is a suburb of Manukau City, one of the cities which make up the Auckland metropolitan area in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated close to the head of the Tamaki River, actually an arm of the Hauraki Gulf which extends south towards the Manukau Harbour.

[edit] Location

Otara is surrounded by the suburbs of Otahuhu, Middlemore, Papatoetoe, Flat Bush, and East Tamaki, 18 kilometres to the southeast of Auckland city centre. The suburb is unusual for its proportion of Pacific Island residents, who make up more than half of its population, and its exceptionally low number of New Zealand European (Pākehā) residents.

Maori tradition tells us that Otara was named after the Rangatira or Maori chief "Tara". There is some disagreement over just which "Tara"

The name possibly comes from "Tara mai Nuku" of antiquity. The Maunga or Mountain "Te Puke o Tara" (literally 'the hill of Tara') was a prominent geographical feature that gave its name to all the area surrounding the hill within East Tamakimakaurau/East Akarana/East Auckand. More recently many relate the name Otara to the Rangatira, "Tara te Iriranginui te Reira", a Ngai Tai chief from Umupuia, an eastern Auckland Marae in the area now known as Duder's beach

The name "Otara" has also been associated with many other incidents and names of various items

Otara is "The Heart of Manukau City" and the home of the "Otara Global Village" developing in the old relocated Baird's Intermediate school which was moved to the new site of the Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate and renamed SEHC Middle School

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" - a tongue-in-cheek reference to the low socio-economic status of much of the suburb, Otara being one of the poorest parts of the Auckland region. Otara is also known for its Saturday morning 'Flea market' held in the Otara shopping center car park next to Manukau Institute of Technology's South Campus.

Otara has gained a bad reputation over the years, most recently due to its youth gangs and murders.

In the 1970s Prime Minister Robert Muldoon's policies led to dawn raids on Otara's people, looking for overstayers from the Pacific Islands.

[edit] Education

Otara has two main high schools, Tangaroa College and Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate. Otara is also home to Manukau Institute of Technology's two main campuses.