View source for MV Kaitawa

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
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|Ship image=StateLibQld 1 150003 Kaitawa (ship).jpg
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|Ship caption=''Kaitawa''
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|Ship name=''Kaitawa''
|Ship owner=[[Union Company|Union Steamship Company]]
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|Ship yard number=375
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|Ship fate=Wrecked 24 May 1966
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|Ship type=[[Collier (ship type)|Collier]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|2485}}
|Ship length={{cvt|85.1|m|ftin}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|13.2|m|ftin}}
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|Ship power=2 × {{convert|725|hp|adj=on|lk=in}} [[diesel engine]]s
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|Ship speed={{convert|9.5|kn|lk=in}}
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'''MV ''Kaitawa''''' was a 2,485-ton [[Collier (ship type)|collier]] owned by the [[Union Company|Union Steamship Company]]. She was lost with all hands on 24 May 1966 near [[Cape Reinga]], New Zealand.<ref name=stuff>{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/opinion/5840136/Anger-lingers-over-Kaitawa-sinking |title=Anger lingers over Kaitawa sinking |first=Michael |last=Cox |work=Waikato Times |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=17 September 2015}}</ref>
==Description==
The vessel was a 2,485-ton steel [[Collier (ship)|collier]] built in [[Leith]], Scotland in 1949 by [[Henry Robb|Henry Robb Limited]] for the Union Steam Ship Company. ''Kaitawa'' was one of three ships ordered by the company. The other two were the ''Kaiapoi'' and the ''Kamona''. She was used primarily to bring [[coal]] from the coal fields on the [[West Coast, New Zealand]] to [[North Island]] ports. Her dimensions were {{convert|85.1|m|ftin}} long, {{convert|13.2|m|ftin}} wide and a [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|5.3|m|ftin}}. She was propelled by two {{convert|725|hp|adj=on|lk=in}} [[diesel engine]]s and was capable of {{convert|9.5|kn|lk=in}}. Her [[yard number]] was 375.
''Kaitawa'' did not have an [[Echo sounding|echo sounder]] or [[radar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?196495 |website=wrecksite.eu |title=MV Kaitawa (+1966) |access-date=17 September 2015}}</ref> Her [[British Polar Engines|British Polar]] twin diesel main engines were prone to cut out and stop if the collier rolled more than about 15 degrees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seabreezes.co.im/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=813:the-loss-of-the-kaitawa&catid=34:ships&Itemid=56 |title=Loss of the Kaitawa |first=John |last=Martin |work=Sea Breezes Magazine |date=February 2012}}</ref>
==Voyages==
During the [[1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute]] she was manned by [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] personnel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rnzncomms.org/memories/fifield/ |title=Lieutenant Commander Victor Fifield, RNZN Communicators Association – Oral History |work=RNZN Communicators Association |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref>
==Final voyage==
The ''Kaitawa'' sailed with 29 crew from [[Westport, New Zealand|Westport]] under Captain George R Sherlock at 1.15pm on 21 May 1966 with a cargo of 2,957 tons of coal. She was bound for the [[Portland cement]] works at [[Whangārei]] via the [[North Cape (New Zealand)|North Cape]]. Her departure had been delayed because the second mate, R P Oakton, suffered [[appendicitis]] the night before and a replacement mate, M G Jenkins, had been flown in.
[[File:Te Werahi Beach.jpg|thumb|right|Cape Maria van Diemen and Motuopao Island. Pandora Bank lies about {{convert|8|km}} south southwest beyond Cape Maria van Diemen]]
At 8pm on 24 May the ''Kaitawa'' was seen by the [[Watchstanding|watch officer]] on the Lyle Shipping Co cargo ship {{MV|Cape Horn}} about {{convert|5|mi|spell=in}} west of the northern end of the Pandora Bank. The seas were heavy and there was a strong {{convert|35|kn|adj=on}} westerly gale. She hit the Pandora Bank at about 9pm. Her [[Hold (ship)|hold]] breached and the cargo of loose coal shifted causing her to capsize and sink with all hands.
Her final message at 9.18pm was:
<blockquote>Position ''(some words missing)'' 10 miles Cape Reinga bearing 035 ''(word missing)'' 30 degrees require immediate assistance.</blockquote>
On receipt of the message the ''Cape Horn'' began to retrace her journey towards where the ''Kaitawa'' was thought to be. A red flare at 11.50pm bearing 23 degrees and between {{convert|5|and|10|mi|spell=in}} away from the ''Cape Horn'', but due to the proximity to Pandora Bank and the rough seas the search was held off until first light.  At 11.25 am on 25 May a [[No. 5 Squadron RNZAF]] [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland flying boat]] sighted an oil slick about {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} north of Pandora Bank, and wreckage drifting towards the coast. Most of the wreckage drifted ashore at Twilight Bay (Te Paengarehia). The search was continued by [[HMNZS Kiama]], with the Hong Kong shipping lines fieghter ''Kweichow'' and the collier ''Kaiapoi'' joining on the 27 May.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19660528.2.178 | title = Report On Loss Of Kaitawa | accessdate = 21 May 2023 |work=The Press | via = paperspast.natlib.govt.nz |issue=31071 |date=28 May 1966 |page=18}}</ref>
The wreck was located at {{convert|24|fathom|lk=in}} and without its [[superstructure]] and cargo. Her position was fixed at 246 degrees True and {{convert|4.77|mi}} from [[Cape Reinga]] light on 8 June by {{HMNZS|Tui|T234|6}}. One body was recovered which washed up on Ninety Mile Beach.<ref name=stuff/>
In response to the disaster the ''Kaitawa'' relief fund was established with Auckland City Councillor and former Royal Navy officer [[George Forsyth (trade unionist)|George Forsyth]] as the fund's chairman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Local body and union stalwart dies at 75 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=16 August 1974 |page=10 }}</ref>
==Memorial==
A memorial to the ''Kaitawa'' tragedy is located at the breakwater on the [[Buller River]] mouth near Westport. The GPS location of memorial is 41° 43.629′S, 171° 35.355′E. The memorial consists of a plaque bearing the names of the crew and an anchor (not from the ''Kaitawa'') mounted on a round concrete plinth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archaehistoria.org/new-zealand-sites/22-kaitawa |first=Ewan |last=Stevenson |title=Kaitawa |website=archaehistoria.org |access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref>
==Literature==
[[Bert Roth]] wrote a song about the sinking that was published in a short-lived New Zealand magazine called ''Fern Fire''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://asslh.org.au/hummer/vol-2-no-3/bert-roth/ |title=M V Kaitawa |first=Herbert |last=Roth |magazine=Ferm Fire |number=14 |date=September 1966}}</ref>
C. K. Stead wrote a poem ('Twenty-One Sonnets' 2) recollecting hearing the news of ''Kaitawa''{{'}}s loss.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{1966 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|34|27|19|S|172|36|04|E|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaitawa}}
[[Category:1966 in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1966]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Ships of the Union Steam Ship Company]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Northland Region]]