Knapton Collection 
Sailing from Port Chalmers, Dunedin at 5 pm on 29 April 1881, the Tararua was en route to Melbourne via Bluff and Hobart. Steering by land on a dark night, with clear skies overhead but a haze over the land, the captain turned the ship west at 4 am believing they had cleared the southernmost point. After breakers were heard at 4:25 am, they steered away to the southwest for 20 minutes before heading west again. At around 5 am, the ship struck the Otara Reef, which runs 8 miles out from Waipapa Point.
Due to the heavy surf, the vast majority of her passengers and crew were stuck aboard the slowly sinking ship. It wouldn't be till 5 pm when a rescue effort was launched. 20 hours after striking the reef Tararua sank. The vast majority of fatalities (131 out of 151 aboard) were due to drowning when passengers attempted to swim ashore.