On her seventh convict voyage Waterloo wrecked on 28 August 1842 in Table Bay with great loss of life.

Waterloo entered Lloyd's Registry in 1815 with James Ray, master, and trade London-Jamaica.

They seized the captain and reportedly were preparing to slit his throat when the revenue cutter Diligence approached.

[5][7] EIC voyage: On 15 July 1820 Captain Henry Richard Wilkinson sailed from the Downs, bound for Bengal and Madras.

[9] For the second convict voyage, under the command of Stephen Addison and surgeon William Trotman, she departed Dublin on 18 December 1830 arrived in Sydney on 30 April 1831.

[11] On her fourth convict voyage, under the command of John Cow and surgeon George Roberts, she departed Portsmouth on 20 November 1834, arrived in Hobart Town on 3 March 1835.

[14] On her sixth convict voyage under the command of John Cow and surgeon J. Ellis, she departed Sheerness on 4 October 1837.

Consequently, Waterloo entered Table Bay on 24 August 1842 and anchored in a position which was to prove unsafe for that time of year.

Early on the morning of the 28th, the wind grew to hurricane strength, and the troopship Abercrombie Robinson was driven ashore.

[17] Waterloo, helpless before the strong wind and high seas, was driven ashore; the masts broke and the ship heeled over on her side.

One hundred and eighty nine people drowned, these being 143 convicts, 15 men of the 99th Regiment, together with 17 wives and children, the boatswain Mr. Chiverton, the sailmaker, the carpenter, and 11 of the crew.

Captain Ager was censured for remaining ashore, while the first mate was criticised for not clearing the fallen masts and rigging.

[17] An editorial in the South African Commercial Advertiser of 31 August 1842 criticised the British authorities and Waterloo's captain, stating that the weather, the water, and the bottom were not the reason for the tragedy.

"[24]The 751-ton Dutch East Indiaman, Waddinxveen, and the Oosterland, had on 24 May 1697 been anchored in the same place near the mouth of the Salt River and been wrecked by a strong gale blowing from the same north-west direction.