Otira

Otira is a small township seven kilometres north of Arthur's Pass in the central South Island of New Zealand. It is on the western approach to the pass, a saddle between the Otira and Bealey Rivers high in the Southern Alps. The population of Otira and its surrounds was 87 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 30 from 2001.. It was originally a stop on the Cobb and Co stagecoach from Canterbury to the West Coast. The railway line was then built from Greymouth to Otira, with the pass navigated by coach, until the railway tunnel opened in 1923. During construction of the tunnel, Otira housed about 600 workers and their families. In the 1950s the town had a population of about 350, but this had dropped to 11 in 1988 and recovered to some...