HMNZS Matai (T01)

History
New Zealand
Name	HMNZS Matai (T01)
Launched	11 June 1930
Commissioned	1 April 1941
Decommissioned	25 April 1945
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,050  GRT, 383  NRT
Length	66.8 m (219 ft)
Beam	10.7 m (35 ft)
Propulsion	triple expansion steam reciprocating, 1,050 ihp, twin shaft, oil
Speed	10 to 13 knots (19 to 24 km/h; 12 to 15 mph)
Complement	81
Sensors & processing systems	asdic
Armament	1 × 4-inch gun, 2 × 20 mm Oerlikons, 2 machine guns, 40 depth charges,

HMNZS Matai (T01) was a Marine Department lighthouse tender which was requisitioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and converted into a minesweeper.

Operational history

Matai was the government's lighthouse tender servicing the marine lights around New Zealand and offshore islands, and had been used for cable laying in the 1930s. She was named after the native mataī tree.

She was requisitioned on 3 March 1941 and handed over to a dockyard for conversion.

After commissioning on 1 April 1941, Matai took over as the flotilla leader of the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla from Muritai and the flotilla began clearing a German minefield in the Hauraki Gulf.

The ship functioned as transport ship 1945–1946. She was broken up 1965.

See also

• Minesweepers of the Royal New Zealand Navy

References

• McDougall, R J (1989) New Zealand Naval Vessels. Page 69–78. Government Printing Office. ISBN   978-0-477-01399-4

Further reading

• Harker, Jack (2000)The Rockies: New Zealand Minesweepers at War. Silver Owl Press. ISBN   0-9597979-9-8