Waipapa Point

Waipapa Point is a rocky promontory on the south coast of the South Island of New Zealand and a station on the Southern Scenic Route. It is located 10 km southeast of the mouth of the Mataura River at the extreme southwest end of the Catlins.

On 28-29. April 1881 it came with the demise of the Tararua (ship) on the Cape about 13 km from the sea reaching Otara Reef the heaviest civilian maritime disaster in New Zealand. As a result of the accident, a lighthouse on Waipapa Point in 1884 put into operation. He is, together with the Kaipara North Head Lighthouse one of the last wooden lighthouses that were built in New Zealand. It was automated in 1976 and is still in operation today.

The Waipapa Lighthouse Road leads from the approximately 5 km north-eastern settlement Otara to the lighthouse.

Swell

• New Zealand Travel Atlas, Maps Wise Auckland. ISBN 0-908794-47-9