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Tarapunga
 Taken by David Arkwright, rnznships.tumblr.com
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With a displacement of 54 tonnes, she was crewed by a complement of ten, and was powered by two 330hp Grey diesel engines, producing a service speed of up to 12 knots.
Armaments-wise, she was equipped with one twin-mounted .50 water-cooled Browning machine gun, one 20mm Oerlikon, 8 depth charges and two twin-mounted .303 Vickers machine guns.
This vessel was designed in 1939 by the Admiralty for harbour patrol and anti-submarine duties, and for construction in civilian boating companies, in this case, Everett Marine Ways in Seattle, Washington.
The Royal NZ Navy placed their build order for this Harbour Defence Motor Launch in February 1942, and within eleven months, she had been completed, built by Grays Harbour Shipbuilding Company in Aberdeen, Washington State.
She was then shipped as deck cargo from Vancouver aboard "Kootenay Place", arriving in Wellington at the end of April 1943, whereupon she was unloaded by floating crane and instantly commenced her sea trials.
Within a month she had been commissioned as Q1187, under which pennant number she served until paid off in September 1945, following the conclusion of World War Two, and laid up at Pine Island and eventually put up for sale.
The Auckland Coastguard acquired Q1187, and utilised her services for five years until the RNZ Navy expressed a desire to redeploy their old ship in a new role as a Seaward Defence Motor Launch, or survey vessel.
She was converted to her new look by March 1951, when she was commissioned for her new assignment, complete with pennant number P3566.
 Taken by David Arkwright, rnznships.tumblr.com
The similarity of this pennant number with her sister ship caused confusion aplenty, so after A & B options were used for four years, in July 1955 she was renamed "Maori", a title she held for three months until the Navy finally got themselves sorted out.
The Maori word for black-backed gull, "Tarapunga" was assigned to the vessel, and under this name she conducted survey duties around the country, often in partnership with "Takapu", until being withdrawn from service and decommissioned in June 1979.
During this time, the pair conducted a six-month survey at Onehunga between October 1960 and March 1961, examining depths, plotting channels and establishing the exact position of the harbour bar.
It was the first major survey of the port since Commander Byron Drury carried out a survey of the Manukau Harbour on the brig "Pandora", a survey which concluded on 3 May 1853.
On 1 June 1968, she struck a rock off Little Ohena Island, in the Mercury Islands, and managed to beach on a rocky shelf before the inrushing water sent her to the bottom. Temporary repairs were made to enable her to head to Whitianga, where more substantial repairs were carried out, allowing her to head to Auckland for permanent repairs on 4 June.
After decommissioning, her work life wasn't over. She was renamed "Mako II" and refitted for use as a support vessel to HMNZS "Olphert" in Wellington, where she served for three years before finally being dismantled. She was sold by RNZ Navy in 1984.
She changed hands five times after leaving the Navy, and her most recent owners renamed her "Tarapunga". Sadly, she met a sad end near Nelson in March 2014, catching fire and sinking off Pepin Island.
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