Отахуху: Тарих, білім және көлік торабы

the hill

The area is named after Tāhuhunui o te rangi, captain of the Moekākara waka, and who settled on Ōtāhuhu and in Northland, his descendants becoming the Ngāi Tāhuhu iwi. Portage Road, which runs between the Manukau Harbour and Ōtāhuhu Creek, was originally Te Tō Waka, a portage for waka between the Manukau and Waitemata harbours. By the 1870s, Ōtāhuhu became the largest agricultural town in the Auckland Province, facilitated by the trade of wheat and other agricultural products to the city of Auckland, trading along the Tāmaki River. In December 1873 the Southern Line opened, connecting the township of Auckland to Penrose. A year and a half later on 20 May 1875, the line was extended south and the Ōtāhuhu railway station was opened. Many famous personalities went to Otahuhu College, including heavyweight boxing champion David Tua, former prime minister David Lange, and ex Manukau City Mayor, Sir Barry Curtis.

Ōtāhuhu had a local government just like other suburbs of Auckland at that time. The local government was called Ōtāhuhu Borough Council, which started in 1912 and merged into Auckland City Council in 1985, eventually amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010.

Otahuhu College is a secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of
Otahuhu Intermediate is an intermediate school (years 7–8) with a roll of
Otahuhu School and Fairburn School are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of and students, respectively. McAuley High School is a state integrated Catholic girls secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of St Joseph's School is a state integrated Catholic full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of The schools are across the street from each other. King's College is a private Anglican secondary school (years 9–13) with a roll of Years 9–11 are boys only, and years 12 and 13 are coeducational. Mt Richmond School is a special school for students with intellectual disabilities. It has a roll of
All these schools except McAuley High School and King's College (as noted above) are coeducational. Rolls are as of

Giac Nhien Temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple is located in the suburb.

Ōtāhuhu, in its position on a narrow section of the Auckland isthmus, is an important part of Auckland's southern transportation approaches for both road and rail, containing a combined bus interchange and Ōtāhuhu railway station. The new bus train interchange opened on 29 October 2016 as a joint Auckland Transport and NZ Transport Agency initiative costing NZ$28M. "The station is at the heart of the Southern New Network", said Auckland Transport's Chief AT Metro Officer, Mark Lambert. "Auckland is moving towards a more connected network of local feeder services connecting with frequent bus and train services. Bus and train transport hubs like Ōtāhuhu are at the heart of this transformation." The old bus interchange, which was badly neglected, and had received increased attention from early 2011 on for vandalism/graffiti prevention measures is now closed and a smaller bus stop has been installed on the main road near the town centre.

Ōtāhuhu nowadays is synonymous with industry and along with its neighbouring suburbs Favona, Māngere East, Mt Wellington, Penrose and Westfield forms an industrial conglomerate zone that spans much of the Māngere Inlet. The community and town centre flourishes as the crossroad to Central and South Auckland and is home to a sizeable Pacific Island populace.

Ōtāhuhu is home to the Ōtāhuhu Rugby Football Club and the Otahuhu Leopards rugby league club.