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Matipo
 Taken by Geordie Stevens / Tony Conroy, www.shipspotting.com
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Built in Meppel, Holland, for Danish interests, she was equipped with a Deutz diesel engine which produced a service speed of eleven knots and ran on 1.5 tons of fuel per day. With accommodation for fourteen crew, she could carry up to 13,000 cases of fruit, with one of her two holds containing a deep-freeze locker for frozen vegetables.
She was acquired by Anchor Shipping within eighteen months of her construction and unleashed on the overnight freight service between Nelson and Wellington, with visits to other ports around the country for some variation, Mapua and Motueka topping the list.
In early 1968, she was acquired by New Caledonian interests, with the intention of establishing an Auckland to Port Vila service. It was ill-fated, however, as on her first voyage, "Matipo" grounded on a reef thirty miles out of Noumea on 7 May 1968, and despite repeated attempts to salvage her, she remained stuck fast until February 1969, when Mother Nature did the job via a cyclone!
All the while she was on the reef, her Captain, Gordon Brown, remained on board - the Finn brothers obviously didn't have him in mind when writing "Six Months In A Leaky Boat", 'cause he was on board for nine months!!
From Noumea, she headed to Whangarei for permanent repairs, and while there she was sold to Australian interests, who on-sold her to another New Caledonian business which utilised "Matipo" to carry limestone and sand to Noumea from outlying islands, but as a barge.
In 1997, she was beached in a derelict state in Noumea, but there was still life in the old girl - she was converted into a floating restaurant three years later. It was short-lived, however, and "Matipo" ended up anchored in Noumea's inner harbour, where she fell victim to Cyclone Erica in March 2003, suffering hull and bottom damage after being blown aground by the high winds.
She was recovered and moored before, in November 2009, being towed from Noumea to Port Moresby, where she was drydocked in June 2010.
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Sourced from Ships of NZ Facebook page