Otira
Otira is a village in the South Island of New Zealand. In the place lived 2006 in 33 residential buildings, 87 people, in 2001 the city had 57 inhabitants. Otira is situated close to Arthur 's Pass on State Highway 73 (SH 73). Twice a day keeps the TranzAlpine train at the train station, which is located on the Midland Line route.
Climate
The mean annual rainfall is 5000 mm, an average of four days a year snow falls.
History
The first hotel on the site of the later Otiras opened in 1864 and gave the travelers who had crossed Arthur 's Pass, accommodation and meals. In 1900, the port of the town to the rail network was made. In 1907 work on the Otira Tunnel, which was completed in 1923 near the settlement. On April 15, 1910, the Otira was devastated by a tornado. 1920 lived between 600 and 700 people here. The population fluctuated greatly depending on the time of where the workers were housed and worked with it for the maintenance of bridge and roads. The opening of the railway tunnel brought the place many visitors. Thus opened a tea room for the passengers, there was a school and a heated swimming pool. In 1960 there were over 600 people in the settlement. In the 1980s most of the passenger traffic has been set, which had a direct influence on Otira. The station restaurant and the school were closed and many houses were demolished. During the construction of the Otira Viaduct, the population increased again, but then dropped off again. In 1997 the hotel was for sale. 1998 bought Chris and Bill Hennah the hotel, 17 houses, the town hall, the fire station, and later still the school building, for a total of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ( NZD). They renovated the hotel, opened a pub and put some houses repaired. In June 2010, the Hennahs offered for reasons of age their property for 1.5 million NZD (approx. 845,000 euros ) back up for sale.