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 is "o" (place of) and "tira" (the travellers). Another possible meaning is "Oti" (finished) and "ra" (Sun), 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 (ex-Goat Creek on 15 October 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. Love Brothers from Port Chalmers had the contract to build 43 houses in the new village. A further house was built in 1951 at the bottom end of the village road. This survives today, along with 16 others from the former railway village. The New Zealand Railways Corporation sold the village houses to Glenstone Holdings around the end of 1990, with a peppercorn lease on the land. In 1998 the remaining 18 ex-railway houses (one has since burnt down) were sold to Chris and Bill Hennah, along with the large two-storeyed hotel, community hall and fire station. The 20-odd hectares of leased land included the school grounds. The Hennahs bought the old school building itself, and nearby indoors swimming pool in 2002. Love Brothers also built the railway hostel for refreshment rooms staff, along with the refreshment rooms which were situated at the north end of the railway station. The 'Refresh', as it was known, closed in November 1987 with the commencement of the TranzAlpine service between Christchurch and Greymouth. Having paid $73,000 in 1998, the Hennahs put the village on the market in