The English author, Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) has a link with the area where Otago Cottage is located. Before Conrad began his writing career, he was a man of the sea. He gained his master's certificate in 1886 and the iron barque "Otago" was his first and only command.
The "Otago" of 367 tons was built in Glasgow in 1869 and was owned by Henry Simpson and Sons, Snaddon and Taylor. For many years she sailed out of Adelaide trading to Mauritius and the East.
In 1887 her Master, Captain Snaddon died and was buried at sea in the Gulf of Siam. The first mate took "Otago" to Bangkok. Joseph Conrad who was an Officer on "SS Vida" was instructed to proceed to Bangkok and take command. After getting her seaworthy he sailed to Singapore and then to Sydney and Melbourne. From Melbourne he took her through Torres Straits and back to Adelaide. Conrad then left "Otago" and returned to England and it was about this little vessel that he wrote his story "The Shadow Line".
About 1900 Huddart Parker Company purchased her and towed her to Hobart where she served as a coal hulk until 1931. A Captain Dodge purchased her at auction for £1 and in January 1931 she was towed to her final resting place alongside the brigantine "Silver Cloud" at what is now known as Otago Bay. The wreck is one of two that can still be seen there today.