{{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox settlement |name= Oturehua |settlement_type=Township |image_skyline = File:Oturehua General Merchant.jpg |image_caption = General store in Oturehua | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 7 |pushpin_map= |coordinates = {{coord|-45.007|169.913|region:NZ-OTA|display=inline,title}} |map_caption= Oturehua, New Zealand |subdivision_type= Country |subdivision_name= [[New Zealand]] |subdivision_type1= [[Regions of New Zealand|Region]] |subdivision_name1= [[Otago]] |subdivision_type2= [[Territorial authorities of New Zealand|Territorial authority]] |subdivision_name2= [[Central Otago District]] |timezone1= NZST |utc_offset1= +12 |timezone1_DST= NZDT |utc_offset1_DST= +13 |blank_name = Local [[iwi]] |blank_info = [[Ngāi Tahu]] }}
'''Oturehua''' is a small settlement in the [[Ida Valley]] of the [[Maniototo]], in [[Central Otago]], in the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. The settlement is {{Convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level, and is located {{Convert|25|km|abbr=on}} from [[Ranfurly, New Zealand|Ranfurly]], via the Ida Valley - Omakau Road and [[State Highway 85 (New Zealand)|State Highway 85]]. The [[Otago Central Rail Trail]] passes through the settlement. The population was 112 residents at last count.
The New Zealand [[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] gives a translation of "place where the [[Antares#Etymology and mythology|summer star]] stands still" for ''Ōturēhua''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/1000-maori-place-names|title=1000 Māori place names|publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage|date=6 August 2019}}</ref>
==History==
In 1967 members of the Otago Anthropological Society surveyed a large area to the east of the town, revealing evidence of quarrying and production of flake knives carried out in the twelfth century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leach |first1=Foss |last2=Leach |first2=Helen |date=2019-01-01 |title=Excavation of a twelfth-century prepared-core prismatic-blade workshop at Oturehua, Central Otago, New Zealand |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106839630 |journal=Tuhinga: Records of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |volume=30 |pages=209–255}}</ref>
Oturehua lies beneath a Rough Ridge, a range of hills. The township was also called Rough Ridge until 1907.<ref name="cyclopedia">{{cite book |title=Cyclopedia of New Zealand – Oturehua |date=1905 |publisher=The Cyclopedia Company |location=Christchurch |page=618}}</ref>
The area has changed little from its description in 1905 when it was described as good arable land, from which large crops are successfully raised.<ref name=cyclopedia />
In 1905, the township comprised a post and telegraph office, a store, a hotel near the railway station, a school, coal pits and a flour mill. Of these, only the Gilchrist's General Store and the Oturehua Railway Hotel remain.<ref name=cyclopedia /> According to the Otago Daily Times, the Gilchrist store established in 1902 is the oldest continuously operating general store in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Pam |date=24 June 2019 |title=Gilchrist's Store business for sale |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/gilchrists-store-business-sale |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=[[Otago Daily Times]] |language=en-nz}}</ref>
In 2025, as a result of several retirements, a group of properties representing most of the main street were put up for sale, including the Gilchrist store, the Oturehua Railway Hotel, an accommodation park, two bed-and-breakfast businesses and three homes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=Katie |last2= |first2= |date=8 September 2025 |title=Most of Oturehua's main street is on the market |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/572414/most-of-oturehua-s-main-street-is-on-the-market |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=[[RNZ]] |language=en-nz}}</ref>
==Features== Hayes' Engineering Works, located immediately southwest of the township, is a Category I listed historic place.<ref>{{NZHPT|330|Hayes' Engineering Works|30 October 2025}}</ref> It was once the home to [[Ernest Hayes (engineer)|Ernest Hayes]], a farmer and flour miller who began producing and selling farm tools from his Oturehua property. Hayes invented the internationally acclaimed [[Wire strainer|wire strainer]], as well as pulley blocks, cattle stops and windmills.<ref name="hayes">{{cite web |title=Hayes Engineering |url=http://www.heritage.org.nz/places/places-to-visit/otago-region/hayes-engineering |website=heritage.org.nz |publisher=[[Heritage New Zealand]]}}</ref>
The Idaburn Dam, located 3 km southwest of Oturehua along the Ida Valley Omakau Road is used for [[curling]] [[bonspiels]] when conditions permit. It is also the site of the annual mid-winter [[Brass Monkey Motorcycle Rally]], which was held until 2021, though many motorcyclists continue to make a pilgrimage to the site on Kings Birthday Weekend of their own volition, out of tradition
The [[Otago Central Rail Trail]] runs through Oturehua, adjacent the Ida Valley Omakau Road. The settlement has a number accommodation options.
The remnants of the Golden Progress quartz mine are located 2 km east of Oturehua on Rough Ridge. These workings are notable as they still retain an intact poppet head, the only surviving one in the Otago goldfields. The Golden Progress poppet head was constructed of Australian hardwood and erected later than most, in 1928, which explains its survival. The mine was worked by three lignite-fired boilers, two for the poppet head to drive the winding gear and one to drive the battery further down the gully.<ref name=halljones>Hall-Jones, J. Goldfields of Otago: An Illustrated History, Craig Printing Co. Ltd, Invercargill, New Zealand, 2005. pp 180. {{ISBN|0-908629-61-3}}</ref>
==Education==
Poolburn School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,<ref name="moe3802">{{cite web |title=Poolburn School Ministry of Education School Profile |url=https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/find-school/school/profile?school=3802 |website=educationcounts.govt.nz |publisher=[[Ministry of Education (New Zealand)|Ministry of Education]]}}</ref> with a roll of {{NZ school roll data|3802|y}} as of {{NZ school roll data|||y|}}.<ref name="ero3802">{{cite web |title=Poolburn School Education Review Office Report |url=https://www.ero.govt.nz/institution/3802/poolburn-school |website=ero.govt.nz |publisher=[[Education Review Office]]}}</ref>
==Notes== {{commons category-inline}} {{Reflist}}
{{Central Otago}}
[[Category:Central Otago District]] [[Category:Populated places in Otago]] [[Category:The Maniototo]]