[3] Until 1888 Rotomahana worked for her builders, Fraser & Tinne, flying their yellow house-flag with a phoenix[1] and taking a bit over 4 hours to ply the 50 mi (80 km) Auckland–Thames route.

[8] Rotomahana continued serving Thames until June 1898,[9] when she was replaced by the larger and faster Wakatere[10] and she switched to the Coromandel run.

[11] Occasionally she served other Hauraki Gulf Northern Steamship routes, such as Port Fitzroy, Okupu and Tryphena on Great Barrier Island.

[13] In another major refit in 1891 her boiler was moved forward, its pressure increased, extra compound cylinders added and her masts reduced from 3 to 2.

[14] Apart from regular maintenance and the major rebuilds, the only event out of the ordinary occurred on 28 May 1911, a day when the Auckland-Devonport ferry got lost, and Rotomahana ran aground near Motuihe Island in heavy fog.