The 674 ton, iron steamer Oscar arrived off the New River, entrance for Invercargill, at 1100 hours on 17 December 1861, On passage from Port Chalmers to Melbourne she was carrying about 200 passengers, and with the Otago goldrush in full swing, a large quantity of gold.Having picked up her pilot the Oscar proceeded to cross the New River bar safely, but while passing the pilot station she ran aground on a sand bank, and despite strenuous efforts to refloat her, there she remained until the receding caused her back to break.
There were no casualties but accommodating her passengers created some difficulties until other vessels arrived to assist.
The Oscar’s Dunedin agents chartered the steamer Guiding Star to render assistance, but upon arrival the Oscar was found to have eight feet of water in her hull, with some frames displaced by as much as four feet. Abandoned as a total loss, the wreck of the Oscar was sold for 80 GB Pounds, and her equipment for 1,000 Pounds.
