HMS/HMNZS “Simplon” 69 ton 1918 trawler/coaster Retired 1946. Returned to Sanfords in 1946.
Simplon was a problem throughout. Captain Freeland had to be relieved of his command at the end of May 1918, subsequently being awarded compensation, apparently for mental strain and a nervous breakdown.
On 26 March the departure of the vessels from Wellington was delayed because of trouble in getting all of the Simplon’s crew on board.
On 20 May, Simplon was in Auckland, due to sail to rendezvous with the Nora Niven. It was not ready and the departure of the ships had to be delayed, with the hire of the Nora Niven having to be paid because that vessel was ready, as ordered.
Again in September there was a delay in operations because the Simplon was not ready and in October the vessel was waiting for four days for a crew.The fishing trawlers Nora Niven and Simplon were requisitioned by the Government and equipped as minesweepers. They swept seventeen mines off Farewell Spit and eighteen in the Three Kings area. Others had probably sunk or broken adrift. The two little fishing boats of 1918 were the forebears of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s numerous minesweepers of the Second World War. The Nora Niven herself survived to take a small part in their activities.
Scotland 1901 Built 1901 for NZ Government with a sister Lady Roberts.
She is reported to have laid a minefield at Wellington in WW1 and was used as an examination vessel in WW2. She was HMS Janie Seddon 1939-1941 and HMNZS Janie Seddon 1941-1944
Janie Seddon also served as a liberty boat for the naval base at HMNZS Cook, Shelly Bay in Wellington.
HMS/HMNZS Janie Seddon at Queens Wharf – c1926 The ‘Janie Seddon’ in the foreground – The ‘Mararoa’ (1885-1931) can also be seen Sign on left reads: Eastbourne Ferry Service
HMNZS Janie Seddon – Evans Bay Slip Way the three vessel’s are Uss Co SS TAKAPUNA , JANIE SEDDON , USS SS KOMATA
In 1946 she was purchased by Ivan Talley for the Motueka Trawling Co Ltd. and adapted to trawl fishing. This proved to be uneconomic as vessels of this size were not permitted to fish within three miles of the coast, so she was unable to fish in Tasman Bay which was rich in snapper. As her small coal capacity only allowed her to spend five days at sea at a time she often came into Port with her fish holds half empty. She was laid up at the Motueka Wharf in 1950 then beached near the ‘Old Wharf’ in 1955, and broken up for scrap. Her hull remains lying in the sand, a sad reminder of a once proud ship.
The Twin Screw Steamer, Janie Seddon (originally named Janie Spotswood), was built by Fleming & Fergusson Ltd at Paisley, Scotland in 1901 as a submarine mining vessel. Due to the fear of Russian invasion, she was the second such ship ordered and purchased by the NZ Government to lay mines in harbours around NZ.
Built of steel, 90′ long and 18′ wide and capable of 7 knots, she was powered by a single 320 hp steam engine driving two shafts. She was renamed ‘Janie Seddon’ after Prime Minister Richard Seddon’s daughter on 29 Nov 1900 and sailed for NZ in company with near identical sister ‘Lady Roberts’ via the Mediterranean through the Suez canal and the Indian Ocean, arriving in Wellington 16 Jan 1902. It is believed that she was used in her original role as a mine layer in Wellington during the war. Although personnel carried a Bren gun aboard for firing warning shots across the bows of errant vessels, Janie was not armed during the wars. When not on examination duty, she carried out gunnery target towing duties and served as a liberty boat for the naval base at Shelly Bay.
The Janie Seddon was the last surviving military ship to have served in both World Wars. She sank at her mooring in Motueka harbour on 23 April 1953. Over the next two years she was stripped of fittings until all that remained was her hull … lots more interesting info on her life (& great photos) at this link: http://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/22334/wreck-janie-seddon
The Janie Seddon was commissioned as an examination vessel in Wellington Harbour in both World Wars. She fired the first shots of World War II for the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy over the bow of a vessel entering the harbour. In 1946 she was purchased by Ivan Talley for the Motueka Trawling Co Ltd. and adapted to trawl fishing. This proved to be uneconomic as vessels of this size were not permitted to fish within three miles of the coast, so she was unable to fish in Tasman Bay which was rich in snapper. As her small coal capacity only allowed her to spend five days at sea at a time she often came into Port with her fish holds half empty. She was laid up at the Motueka Wharf in 1950 then beached near the ‘Old Wharf’ in 1955, and broken up for scrap. Her hull remains lying in the sand, a sad reminder of a once proud ship.
From the archive: Image taken at Devonport Naval Base during WW2 shows a group of Harbour Defence Motor Launches (HDML) with HMNZS Philomel she was used as a patrol launch base from late 1942 to 1945. L-R: Q1184 – HMNZS Paea, Q1194 – HMNZS Ngapona, Q1192 – HMNZS Maroro, Q1193 – HMNZS Tamure, HMNZS Philomel
