Otira is a small township fifteen kilometres north of Arthur's Pass in the central South Island of New Zealand. It is on the northern approach to the pass, a saddle between the Otira and Bealey Rivers high in the Southern Alps. A possible meaning of Otira is "o" and "tira". Another possible meaning is "Oti" and "ra", because Otira Gorge is usually in deep shadow.
Otira was originally a stop on the Cobb and Co stagecoach from Canterbury to the West Coast. The Midland Line was extended from Stillwater to Jacksons in 1894 and then Otira in 1899, when the pass was navigated by coach from Otira until the railway tunnel opened in 1923. During construction of the tunnel, Otira housed about 600 workers and their families.
The Otira Railway Station was opened on 13 November 1900, and closed in February 1992.
In the 1950s the town had a population of about 350, but this had dropped to 11 in 1988.
While a small number of railway houses existed at the time the Otira Tunnel was being built, the vast majority were built in 1922 and 1923. They were needed to house staff required for the greatly-upscaled railway operation following the completion of the tunnel.