[2] Hydrabad was bound from Lyttelton to Adelaide, carrying broad gauge rolling stock which had been sold by the Canterbury Provincial Railways to the South Australian government.

[2] Her captain, a man named Holmwood, ran the ship aground on Waitarere Beach five kilometres south of the mouth of the Manawatu River in the North Island, to increase the passengers' and crew's chances of survival.

[1][2] During the latter attempt, the steamer SS Glenelg managed to tow Hydrabad off the beach, but she then began to rapidly take on water.

The attempt was abandoned and Hydrabad was left to drift up the beach, preparatory to her cargo being unloaded and taken to Foxton.

[2] The nearby community of Waitarere commissioned a survey of the Hydrabad from the Maritime Archaeological Association of New Zealand, to investigate the rate of decay of the wreck, and the possibility of creating a memorial using some or all of the remains.