Otatara is in the Awarua riding of the county of Southland and in the electoral district of Awarua. The district lies to the south of West Plains and the Waikiwi stream, a tributary of the Oreti river, which flows through the district and enters the estuary near the mouth of the New River harbour. Otatara may be approached by Bay Road from Invercargill, or by boat from the Invercargill jetty. It is a district of small farms, mostly carved out of the bush, and the soil, though somewhat sandy, is very fertile. The entire district is more or less surrounded by water, and patches and clumps of bush on the farms give variety and beauty to the landscape. The district public school, which is attended by fifty children, is eight miles from Invercargill. It is the domicile of the local post office, and mails are received and despatched on Tuesdays and Fridays every week. Otatara had a population of 251 persons at the census of 1901.

Acker, Walter , Farmer, Otatara. Mr Acker, who has a farm of 115 acres, is a son of Mr Lewis Acker, who settled at the Bluff about 1835; it was he who named the New River, and he was for some years pilot at New River Heads. Mr Walter Acker was born in 1864, across the New River, and was brought up on a farm, and afterwards worked for seven or eight years at his father's sawmill. After this he worked for about seven years at various sawmills in Southland. He then returned to the farm, which he now holds, and has ever since remained in the district. Mr Acker is a member of the Otatara school committee. He was married, in 1893, to a daughter of Mr D. Hogan, of Makarewa, and has three sons and two daughters.