Otematata sprung up quickly in the 1950’s to accomodate workers on the new dam at Benmore, part of the Waitaki Hydro scheme . Housing had a hierarchy. The ‘permanent’ houses were closest to the main centre, solidly built of brick, had pavements and gutters and were occupied by the managers higher up in the order. The ‘temporary’ houses were built of less durable materials, freezing in winter, often on the outskirts, and had no permanent boundary between public road and private house. These housed the dam workers.

These were also relocatable - a large number were moved to Twizel to continue the hydro scheme in the Mackenzie Basin, once Benmore Dam was built, leaving little trace in Otematata apart from empty roads