Otautau is a small farming, forestry and milling town located inland on the western edge of the Southland Plains of New Zealand on the banks of the Aparima River.^[4] Otautau is located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) north west of Invercargill. The average elevation of Otautau is 60 metres.^[5]

Otautau is also known as "The Heart of Western Southland" as can be seen on the roadside sign photo below. Otautau township has one building registered with Pouhere Taonga Heritage New Zealand.^[6] This is the historic courthouse building in Main Street from 1908, which currently houses the district's small museum and some archives from local institutions and businesses.^[7]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of [an] ear pendant" for the name Ōtautau.^[8]

There have been claims made in some modern day publications, that Otautau was founded after the discovery of gold in Central Otago in 1861, to meet the needs of travellers on their way to the then newly discovered gold fields.^[9] Yet others suggest that Otautau's early growth could be attributed to those travelling to Wakatipu, for similar reasons.^[10] However, in an handbook printed for use by the newly arriving miners, no such route via Otautau exists for any goldfield, from Tuapeka to Wakatipu.^[11]

Early records do hold vital clues that it was mainly agricultural needs and newly arrived settlers, which provided the bulk of early travel in the area, such as the diary entries quoted and early accounts of station life in Southland, re-printed in the series, 'The Conquerors – Saga of the Stations' found in the Southland Times, (the articles of which are collated into a book of the same name, held by Riverton Heritage Society, at Te Hikoi). In these, there is the idea that gold played some part in opening up land in the region, which it did, as miners later settled in the area, and invested their gains into many of the small towns and farming districts there, including Otautau,^[12] (see also below, account of Robert Campbell). In early news reports of the day, Riverton did advertise as being the closest port to the gold diggings, but this did not last long, as once the railway from Bluff, first to Invercargill then to Winton was completed, this moved the main of the southern goldfield traffic to that route.^[13] There are accounts of a few waggoners taking supplies both early on in the Wakatipu diggings and in later years, from Riverton, (a Mr. Cassels being one of them, and the partnership of Newsome, Rice and McIntosh,^[14] another), via The Otautau area to The Lakes. However, many more accounts are given of waggoners taking supplies and gold to and from Invercargill to The Lakes.^[15][16][17] The main of the traffic to and from the goldfields situated in South Otago, to the north of Otautau, was through Dunedin and Port Chalmers,^[18] which is much different to what has been suggested or claimed in some contemporary accounts.^[19]

The most accurate representation of the early Otautau area found to date, is from the book on Scotts Gap (just outside of Otautau, named after early run-holder, Matthew Scott): "Before the 1870s Otautau had very little settlement, being only an overnight camping stop for drovers and their wagons, quenching their thirst before fording the stream the next day to continue the journey inland."^[20] What can be proven without doubt, is that Otautau Township was not surveyed until March 1872, by E. Tanner, the resulting map being drawn by W.J. Percival in 1874.^[21] Even in the 1867 map of Aparima Hundred, from which land Otautau was taken, there is a large blank space where Otautau would later be.^[22] Giving further weight to the idea that the town may not have been founded in the 1860s as claimed, is the fact that the first general store in the township was not opened until 1876. This was owned by Robert Campbell, who was previously mining at Macetown.^[23][24][25] In records held at Archives NZ, information shows that the first land sale in the township was not made until late 1872.

Although the locality was originally only a wagon stop on the way to the interior, a township later formed.^[26] A very important factor in the growth of Otautau, came from the decision of the Wallace County Council, to move their office from Riverton to Otautau. This move was made official at the opening in March 1898 ^[27] and lasted nearly 100 years, until the amalgamation of county councils formed the new Southland District Council, in 1989.^[28] Having the seat of administration for the County in Otautau meant many of its members moved there. The work created by and for the WCC (Wallace County Council), drew others to settle in the town with the promise of jobs. Between this and early agriculture which had originated with the Waste Land Leases in the area during the 1850s,^[29] Otautau became the hub of farming and settlement for the whole Central Western Southland District. The railway having arrived in December 1879,^[30] this added many advantages to both farmers and settlers.

Otautau is described as a rural settlement by Statistics New Zealand. It covers 2.60 km² (1.00 sq mi),^[1] and had an estimated population of 770 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 296 people per km². It is part of the much larger Otautau statistical area.

Otautau had a population of 753 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 51 people (7.3%) since the 2013 census, and unchanged since the 2006 census. There were 318 households, comprising 405 males and 351 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.15 males per female, with 141 people (18.7%) aged under 15 years, 132 (17.5%) aged 15 to 29, 330 (43.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 150 (19.9%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 90.8% European/Pākehā, 13.1% Māori, 0.4% Pasifika, 1.6% Asian, and 1.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 59.8% had no religion, 29.9% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Hindu and 1.2% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 57 (9.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 207 (33.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 57 people (9.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 294 (48.0%) people were employed full-time, 81 (13.2%) were part-time, and 21 (3.4%) were unemployed.^[37]

Otautau School is a full primary school for years 1 to 8^[40] with a roll of 149 as of February 2024.^[41] The school first opened in 1880.^[42]

Over the years, there have been various events and festivals held in Otautau. The You 'n' Lamb Festival^[43] was an annual event organised by the now closed Otautau Lions Club, which is no longer held.^[44] Another annual event which was run for 8 years, was the Flowers, Quilts & Crafts Day, but this was sadly wound up in 2020.^[45] The Otautau Car Show is another long-standing annual event that is still currently held in February of each year (Covid permitting) and details of the current year's event can be found here.^[46]