Rupture along the Wairarapa Fault and Wharekauhau thrust was responsible for the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, there is also evidence from trenching that the rupture continued onto the Alfredton Fault. The uplifted beach ridges of Turakirae Head provide a proxy record of prehistoric earthquakes. This record has been checked by trenching across parts of the Wairarapa Fault. The trenching recorded five surface rupturing events since about 5,500 years BP, the last of which is the 1855 earthquake and two of which are not recorded by beach ridges. Together the observations give a mean recurrence interval of about 1,200 years.