The town's name comes from the
Māori for "the place of canoes", a reference to the town's location close to the
Ōwaka River, which joins the
Catlins River three kilometres (2 miles) from the town, close to the coast. The town was originally called
Catlins River, then
Quakerfield. On 22 June 1896, Owaka became the terminus of the
Catlins River Branch railway, and it retained this status until an extension of the branch line to Ratanui was opened on 1 August 1904. The railway ultimately terminated in
Tahakopa, but as traffic declined on the line in its later years, the Tuesday freight train (one of four per week) ran only as far as Owaka after 1958. The branch closed on 27 February 1971, and little evidence of its existence remains in or around Owaka besides some of the line's old formation, as the last substantial relic, Owaka station's
goods shed, was removed in 1986. In November 1991, 15-year old Kylie Smith was abducted in Owaka and was raped and murdered by Paul Bailey. Bailey pled guilty in 1992, and was subsequently
jailed for life, with a non-parole period of 10 years. In 2021, his application for parole was denied and it was also denied at his next opportunities in 2023 and 2025. Bailey's offending had a substantial impact on the town at the time: the local pastor, who had assisted Bailey in gaining employment in Owaka, had his house vandalised, and a
lynch mob threatened to burn down his church, whilst that same mob burned down Bailey's house. ==Demographics==