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Florida
 Sourced from www.photoship.co.uk
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Built in Foxhol, she was powered by one 396hp MAN eight cylinder diesel engine, producing a service speed of 9.5 knots.
Operated for Dutch owners before being acquired by Silk & Boyd Ltd of Suva, for whom she was operating on a voyage from New Hebrides to Townsville when she ran aground on Myrmidon Reef, Queensland, on 10 June 1976, and was eventually decreed a total loss.
It was the second time in a year that she'd run aground, having previously done so on 16 September 1975 following an engine failure near Suva. She wasn't refloated until 5 October! In between times, on 19 February, a steering gear failure saw her collide with the passenger liner "Pacific Princess" and the wharf in Suva!
Her first visit to Onehunga, in July 1975, was on charter to Brown & Doherty Ltd, who were building the new Rarotongan Hotel. The port was chosen in part because of the solid reputation of her waterside workers, particularly in comparison with those on t'other side of town, and they proceeded to fill the ship to the gunnels with all manner of building materials and vehicles.
More charter calls were made, but a regular service wasn't possible thanks to the stance of NZ's unions, who demanded NZ crews be employed where possible.
Reef Shipping had utilised the ship's services on a couple of occasions since that initial visit, but when their option on another charter expired while "Florida" was en route to Auckland, it opened the door for a new charterer to take her on.
That was until the ship was arrested upon arrival for her fourth time at Onehunga for breach of contract! Cue picketing by the Seamen's Union, meaning "Florida" was unable to be loaded, and she ended up sailing as empty as she had arrived, never to return to Onehunga.
A more detailed account of this ship's exploits, and those of many others - but no other Onehunga visitors - can be found in a delightful wee read, "From Kauri Trees To Sunlit Seas", by the late Don Silk (died 2012). Recommended reading, particularly if you want to get an appreciation of the challenges of shipping in the South Pacific during the '60s and '70s.
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