HMNZS Maimai was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class ships built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.
HMS Indefatigable with HMNZS Maimai alongside her, Maimai was acting as a store ship for Indefatigable. Photo from Auckland Libraries heritage image collection (PHOTO ID:370_0299_07)
HMNZS Maimai & her crew
Castle Class at HMNZS Cook, Shelly Bay, Wellington
ST Maimai Steaming up Wellington Harbour, 1960s
HMNZS Maimai (T27) (T338)
Maimai being tended to by the Fire Brigade after waste oil in her bilges caught fire.
Maimai being broken up on the Evans bay slipway in 1966, she was broken up in 6 weeks.
Film of Maimai being broken up exists but is yet to be digitized.
HMNZS Maimai was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class ships built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.
Background[edit]
The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country’s limited ship construction facilities at the time.[1]
Operational history[edit]
Maimai was the fourth of the nine steel minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy and was commissioned on 15 September 1943. the others being Aroha, Awatere, Hautapu, Pahau, Waiho, Waima, Waipu, and Waikato (never commissioned). She served with the 95th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group, located at Wellington.[2] In March 1944, Maimai would accidentally fire her port depth charge thrower while berthed at Picton.[3] The unexploded depth charge was recovered four weeks later.[3] On 27 July 1945, she was rammed by Awatere stern-to-stern at Shelly Bay, with minor damage.[3] After the war, Maimai was disarmed but remained in service for ammunition dumping.[3] In 1946, Maimai was purchased by the Maimai Trawling Company Ltd. to be used as a side trawler.[3][2]
In 1947 she caught nearly 100,000 lb (45,000 kg) of fish, being considered a record for four days of fishing at the time.[4] On 28 July 1950, waste oil in Maimai‘s bilges caught fire, but was quickly extinguished by the Wellington Fire Brigade.[5][6] As the years went by, catches got smaller and smaller, with conditions onboard of Maimai deteriorating. [7] And with smaller and efficient fishing vessels being built, it became harder for Maimai to get a crew, with Maimai still sailing without a full crew.[7] At the end of 1966, Maimai was sold for scrap and was scrapped in Wellington by Pacific Scrap Ltd
