Her sister ship, the Marlborough had sailed in January 1890 and the Dunedin followed in March, sailing from Oamaru on 19 March with 34 crew including Captain Roberts.
Roberts' daughter was the only passenger.
By July concerns were being expressed about the ship, as she normally made the journey in 90 or so days and by October she was noted as missing.

Although both the Dunedin and Marlborough were sighted in the Southern Ocean after leaving New Zealand, neither was seen again after that.
No trace was found of the Dunedin and it was presumed both she and the Marlborough hit icebergs in the Southern Ocean.
RMS Rimutaka had reported that there were great quantities of ice in the Southern Ocean on their normal route between the Chatham Island and Cape Horn when she sailed through the area in early to mid February.
The Board of Enquiry concluded that apart from hitting an iceberg another possibility was that the Dunedin had come to grief in a storm.
They found that the ship was seaworthy, appropriately laden, and sailed by an experienced Captain and crew.

There were two reports of sightings of the Dunedin in 1890; one by the ship London which said they had sailed near each other in the vicinity of Cape Horn prior to being separated in a storm, and another about her being found on the coast of Brazil with yellow fever on board.
This latter story was dismissed as untrue.
Her sister ship, the Marlborough had sailed in January 1890 and the Dunedin followed in March, sailing from Oamaru on 19 March with 34 crew including Captain Roberts. Roberts' daughter was the only passenger. By July concerns were being expressed about the ship, as she normally made the journey in 90 or so days and by October she was noted as missing.
Although both the Dunedin and Marlborough were sighted in the Southern Ocean after leaving New Zealand, neither was seen again after that. No trace was found of the Dunedin and it was presumed both she and the Marlborough hit icebergs in the Southern Ocean. RMS Rimutaka had reported that there were great quantities of ice in the Southern Ocean on their normal route between the Chatham Island and Cape Horn when she sailed through the area in early to mid February. The Board of Enquiry concluded that apart from hitting an iceberg another possibility was that the Dunedin had come to grief in a storm. They found that the ship was seaworthy, appropriately laden, and sailed by an experienced Captain and crew.
There were two reports of sightings of the Dunedin in 1890; one by the ship London which said they had sailed near each other in the vicinity of Cape Horn prior to being separated in a storm, and another about her being found on the coast of Brazil with yellow fever on board. This latter story was dismissed as untrue.
Dunedin (ship)