Ōtara - Defying the Odds

One thing I realised in Ōtara, that our pupils would need more than anything else, was a sense of self-esteem — because that was being rapidly taken away form them by a stupidly hostile, well not hostile, but derogatory, press.

– Former Hillary College principal Garfield Johnson

Ōtara was done on the cheap: let’s face it, and that’s where the anger of Ōtara comes from I believe.

– Ōtara-raised actor Rawiri Paratene

If there’s one thing we can all learn from this story it’s that whatever street you live on, it can either be your boundary or you can defy the odds and let it be your springboard to greater things. It’s over to you.

– Narrator Dale Husband

What’s the piece of Ōtara that I carry? Well sometimes when I’m getting hassled by somebody, I often sit there thinking: 'not only am I more intelligent that you, but I could probably demolish you physically too'.

– Ōtara-raised Ben Walton

Ōtara, right from my seven-year-old eyes, it excited me. And I’ve seen so much destruction there, but it still excites me. If we’ve got what we’ve got from Otara now, just imagine what they’ve got to give!

– Ōtara-raised actor Rawiri Paratene

What happened in Ōtara must happen to the whole country. It is a seminal place if you like. I wouldn’t mind a New Zealand like Ōtara. It would suit me fine.

– Former Hillary College principal Garfield Johnson

There was no long-term plan. It was, we need labour —  let's ship them in from the islands, let's bring them down from the rural areas, build these houses, stick them in there and get them working.

– Ōtara local Rhonda Kite reflects on the suburb's origins, in a 2018 Stuff interactive feature