SS Wairarapa
Wairarapa | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | |
| Name | Wairarapa |
| Namesake | Wairarapa |
| Owner | Union Steam Ship Company |
| Operator | Union Steam Ship Company |
| Port of registry | Dunedin |
| Route | Sydney – Auckland |
| Builder | Wm Denny & Bros, Dumbarton |
| Yard number | 259 |
| Launched | 19 May 1882 |
| Completed | 3 July 1882 |
| Out of service | 29 October 1894 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Wrecked off Miners Head |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steel screw steamship |
| Tonnage | 1,786 GRT, 1,023 NRT |
| Length | 285.2 ft (86.9 m) |
| Beam | 36.3 ft (11.1 m) |
| Depth | 23.7 ft (7.2 m) |
| Installed power | 2-cylinder compound engine |
| Propulsion | single screw |
| Sail plan | brigantine |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
SS Wairarapa was a New Zealand ship of the late 19th century plying the route between Auckland, New Zealand and Australia. It was wrecked on a reef at the northern edge of Great Barrier Island, about 100 kilometres (54 nmi) out from Auckland, and sank. The death toll of around 130 people remains one of the largest such losses in the country's history. The ship was named after the Wairarapa region.