It's now 25 years since since the name of a small Otago settlement was etched into the history of New Zealand for the worst reasons possible.

Over the course of the 13th and 14 of November 1990, unemployed Aramoana man David Gray killed 13 people, before dying as a result of a shootout with police.

The massacre is New Zealand's most deadly criminal shooting rampage.

Attending police officer and author of 'Aramoana; Twenty-two hours of terror', Bill O'Brien said, even recently he's had high school students approach him to learn more about what happened.

“I guess in a way that’s a good thing because young people are looking to try and understand things and make sense of tragedies and events that happened in our history.”

O’Brien said the memories of that day will stay with him and others at the “very sharp end” of the day forever.

He said he still keeps in touch with those involved in the tragedy.