Mine sweeper – Hananui II. She entered service very late in feb 1919
This was owned by Messers Jagger and Hardy of Auckland and a Charter Agreement, similar to those for the other two vessels (Simplon and Janie Seddon) was drawn up.
Unlike the other vessels, there were no naval personnel on board for sweeping operations, probably because of a lack of suitable personnel in Philomel.
Hananui II began operations in the latter part of February 1919.
Having swept the field without finding any mines it returned to Auckland at the end of April, landing the minesweeping equipment at Devonport and was returned to its owners.”
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.
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]
The launching of the minesweeper Tawhai at Auckland.
Tawhai was the last of four composite minesweepers to be built for the RNZN, the others being Hinau, Manuka, and Rimu. Tawhai was originally built for use as an LL Magnetic minesweeper, but by mid 1943, it was clear Tawhai was not needed as another LL minesweeper, so was to be completed as a conventional minesweeper.[2] At the 28 September 1943 Navy Office conference, use of the Tawhai as a servicing vessel was considered but was declined.[2]Tawhai would be ‘work suspended’ at the date of delivery when 95% complete and was declared surplus to the War Assets Realisation board in October 1944 for disposal.[2] In 1946, she would be purchased by the UNRRA to rebuild the decimated Chinese fishing industry.[2][3] She was last seen with the Awatere and Pahau fishing at Formosa (now Taiwan)
HMNZS Waikato under construction, 1943 – Not commissioned
HMNZS Waikato under construction, 1943
Waikato being launched, 1943
The minesweeper HMNZS Waikato in the Waitematā Harbour immediately after launching, crowds attending the launch ceremony at the Marine Departments Construction Yard in the foreground
Castle Class – RNZN built, not completed as HMNZS Waikato, later SS Taiaroa (1943) Vessel Taiaroa, crossing the roadway from the slipway at Evans Bay, Wellington. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1956/2260-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22311999
HMNZS Waikato (Now Taiaroa in this photo – fishing trawler)
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]
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.[2] But construction would be stopped when she was 95% complete and was declared war surplus.[2]
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.[2][3] She would be sold to New Zealand Fisheries LTD in 1952.[4] Later that year on 28 July 1952, a man was found dead on the deck of Taiaroa, having fallen head first.[5] 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.[5] 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.[5] Charles would then report the accident to the police, and when the police arrived, they found the man dead.[5] 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, and would sail to Tauranga under her own power to be converted.[2][6] 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.[2] After a lengthy court case, Taiaroa was stripped, and given to the Royal New Zealand Air Force to be sunk
