New Zealand - Otago - Tapanui District High School - Upper Primers - 1970 Photo Courtesy of Juliet Foley Do you have more information about the school or the people in this photo? Please use the comment section below to share. To search for other photos from this school, please type the schools name in to our search engine. Tapanui - Tapanui is a small town in West Otago in New Zealand's South Island, close to the boundary with Southland region (population 744 as of 2006 census). A forestry town, it lies between the foot of the Blue Mountains and the Pomahaka River. Deer stalking and trout fishing are popular pastimes of the area. For almost a hundred years, the town was serviced by the Tapanui Branch railway line, which despite its name never actually terminated in Tapanui. This line was formally opened in late 1880 and closed after being damaged by severe flooding in the region in October 1978. State Highway 90, which links State Highway 1 at McNab, near Gore, to State Highway 8 at Raes Junction, passes through Tapanui.