SS ''Taiaroa'' was a New Zealand-built ship built for the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the intention for use as a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, later being converted into a

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

Background

The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more

s to operate in home waters, chose the design because it was simple enough to be built with the country's limited ship construction facilities at the time.

History

Originally launched as HMNZS ''Waikato'' in 1943, she was planned to have been commissioned in 1944, and was to serve in the 97th Auxiliary minesweeping group. But construction would be stopped when she was 95% complete and was declared war surplus. In 1946, she was sold to the National Mortgage and Agency Company, being renamed to ''Taiaroa'', and was converted into a fishing trawler, and would operate at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. She would be sold to New Zealand Fisheries LTD in 1952. Later that year on 28 July 1952, a man was found dead on the deck of ''Taiaroa,'' having fallen head first. a member of the crew, Charles Munday told the police that he was walking with the man on the wharf, and while he was climbing down to the trawler, the man fell head first onto ''Taiaroa''. Charles would report this to the fireman of ''Taiaroa,'' but because he did not see the man because of the darkness, the fireman presumed he was under the influence of liquor, told him to get off the ship. Charles would then report the accident to the police, and when the police arrived, they found the man dead. In September 1974, she was laid up in Wellington, where for almost a decade, she would be badly vandalised. In April 1982, she was sold by the Wellington Harbour Board to recover costs, and was to be used for the movie ''

Savage Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portugal, Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira and north of the Canary Islands.30,000), white-faced storm-petrel (>80,0 ...

'', and would sail to

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

under her own power to be converted. In one of the final scenes of the movie, she was to be blown up, which was only meant to damage deck structures, unfortunately she caught fire, also setting fire to a wildlife reserve on Motoura island. After a lengthy court case, ''Taiaroa'' was stripped, and given to the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

to be sunk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taiaroa (1943) Castle-class trawlers of the Royal New Zealand Navy Trawlers World War II minesweepers of New Zealand 1943 ships