Ohai is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island, 65 kilometres northwest of Invercargill and 25 kilometres west of Winton. The literal meaning of Ohai is unclear, but a mural in the town centre reads "OHAI" and then curved underneath "Place of the Stone". The name Ohai was recorded by James Herries Beattie as in use for the area before …
Ohai is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island, 65 kilometres northwest of Invercargill and 25 kilometres west of Winton. The literal meaning of Ohai is unclear, but a mural in the town centre reads "OHAI" and then curved underneath "Place of the Stone". The name Ohai was recorded by James Herries Beattie as in use for the area before 1840. Up until as late as 1958 Morley stream near the town was officially called Ohai Stream in the Wairio District Survey maps. It is likely that the area was originally named in relation to an historic Maori stone quarry that is nearby as described in New Zealand Archaeological Association Schedule & Maps of Recorded Archaeological Sites, Map 7, Page 271
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