File:Sinking of the SS Tararua (13987868194).jpg

At 5.00am on 29 April 1881, the steamer 'Tararua' struck a reef at Waipapa Point, Southland. Raging seas tore the stranded ship apart and thwarted any rescue attempts. Sadly, false reports saying that all lives were safe also delayed rescue efforts. On the second night the masts of the ship finally collapsed, the ship rolled, and the 'Tararua' slipped almost out of sight. 131 of the 151 passengers and crew perished.

The wreck of the 'Tararua' remains the worst civilian shipwreck in New Zealand waters, triggering a Court of Inquiry, poetry, and numerous books. However a different kind of interest in the wreck continued well into the 1930s due to its large bullion of sliver coins - estimated around £7000 in 1889. Soon after divers scoured the wreckage for nine months and located undamaged bottles of lemonade, but no silver. Later insurance company divers found the submerged strong room, but it was inaccessible. Then in 1889 a group led by William Batson arrived with dynamite, but after a year and a half Baston was bankrupt, and the silver remained unclaimed.

This 1932 memorandum from the Collector of Customs Invercargill asks about the wreck on behalf of R S Lange, who was keen to have a go at locating the lost bullion. The Secretary of the Marine Department doubted whether the silver would still exist, and suggested selling the rights to the wreck instead. The file ends in 1933, and gives no outcome of the conversation - or the silver.

Archives Reference: M1 Box 817/ 9/12/127 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=19982503

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