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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (589x701, 104 KB)Location map of Otara, New Zealand I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (589x701, 104 KB)Location map of Otara, New Zealand I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Manukau City (orange). ... For other uses, see Auckland (disambiguation). ... When the word metropolitan (from the Greek metera = mother and polis = town) is used as an adjective, as in metropolitan bishop, metropolitan France, or metropolitan area it can mean: of or characteristic of a metropolis; see also metropolitan area, Metropolitan Police, Metropolitan Railway of or belonging to the home territories... North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... The Tamaki River, despite its name, is actually an estuarial arm of the Hauraki Gulf, close to the city of Auckland in New Zealand. ... A true-colour image showing Auckland city (left), the Hauraki Gulf (centre) and the Coromandel Peninsula (right). ... Location of Manukau Harbour. ...

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. Otahuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand under the local governance of the Auckland City Council. ... Middlemore is a suburb of Manukau City, one of the four cities that make up the conurbation of Auckland, New Zealand, in northern New Zealand. ... Papatoetoes Old Railway Station - a local landmark Papatoetoe is a suburb of Manukau City, one of the four cities that make up the Auckland conurbation in northern New Zealand. ... East Tamaki is a suburbof Manukau, New Zealand. ... “km” redirects here. ... Pacific Islands (or Pacific Person, pl: Pacific People, also called Oceanic[s]), is a geographic term used in several places, such as New Zealand and the United States, to describe the inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Pākehā. (Discuss) It has been suggested that Pākehā be merged into this article or section. ... Pākehā is a Māori term generally used to describe New Zealanders of British or European ancestry, but it can also be used to refer to any non-Māori person. ...

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. How Bizarre is the first single by New Zealand group, OMC, released in 1995. ... OMC is a music group from Otara, Auckland, New Zealand which had a worldwide hit with the song How Bizarre in 1996. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Manukau Institute of Technology is a large Institute of Technology in Manukau City, New Zealand. ...

Otara has gained a bad reputation over the years, most recently due to its youth gangs and murders. The majority of the population are not involved in such activity.

In the 1970s Prime Minister Robert Muldoon's policies led to dawn raids on Otara's people, looking for overstayers from the Pacific Islands. A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... The Right Honourable Sir Robert David (Rob) Muldoon GCMG CH (25 September 1921–5 August 1992) served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. ... Dawn Raid Entertainment is a record label, based in Papatoetoe in Auckland, New Zealand and has signed many New Zealand hip-hop and RnB artists such as Savage, Ill Semantics and The Deceptikonz. ...

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. Tangaroa College Website Tangaroa College is a secondary school catering for years 9-13 in Otara, Manakau. ... Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate is a school in Otara, New Zealand. ... Manukau Institute of Technology is a large Institute of Technology in Manukau City, New Zealand. ...