HMNZS Wakakura (T00) was originally a First World War Castle-class naval trawler built in Canada. Ordered by the Admiralty, the vessel, named TR 1, was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy for use on the East Coast of Canada. She was purchased by New Zealand in 1926 and transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy when it was established in 1941.

HMNZS Wakakura,  Lyttleton, NZ

Wakakura remained in commission throughout the Second World War and was sold to Tasman Steamship Co and converted to a refrigerated cargo vessel in 1947.

“A little trawler paid a big part in the lives of New Zealand’s pre-war and wartime naval reservists. Her Majesty’s Trawler (later HMNZS) Wakakura, purchased from the Royal Navy scrap heap ‘as is, where is’ to be a training ship, also left an impression on various wharves and a couple of other ships as she roamed from port to port around New Zealand instructing young would-be sailors in naval procedures.” [1]

She displaced 530 tons standard, could manage 10 knots (19 km/h) and was equipped with a 4-inch (102 mm) gun during World War II.

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