HMS Puriri (T02) (New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy,) was a coastal cargo boat which was requisitioned by the Navy and converted into a minesweeper. She was sunk by a German mine 25 days after she was commissioned.

 

HMS Puriri Memorial Ocean Beach, Whangarei Heads, New Zealand

Boat sent from Gale to pick up crew

The Gale which was a mile and a half or more ahead of us came back and lowered a boat and picked us up.  One of the Cruisers (Achilles)was returning to base and she sent over a boat.  They transferred most of our people onto her.Operational history

Puriri was owned by the Anchor Shipping and Foundry Company. She was one of four ships requisitioned as a consequence of the German auxiliary cruiser Orion's minefield and the loss of the liner Niagara, the others being Matai, Gale and Rata. Puriri was taken over on 20 November 1940 and handed to the dockyard for conversion.

On 27 November 1940, Puriri put to sea urgently to assist the cruiser HMS/HMNZS Achilles in the search for the raiders Orion and Komet, which had sunk the liner Rangitane. She returned to port three days later and resumed conversion.

She was commissioned on 19 April 1941, and assigned to the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla, which was assigned to sweep German mines in the Hauraki Gulf.

Fate

On 13 May 1941, the launch Rawea attached a buoy to a German mine that had been caught in a fishing net eight miles north-east of Bream Head.[2] Puriri and HMS/HMNZS Gale were sent to deactivate it, and arrived in the area the next day. Gale sailed past the mine without seeing it, but Puriri, also not seeing the mine, struck it at 11 am. The explosion caused the ship to immediately sink at 35°46′15″S 174°43′00″ECoordinates: 35°46′15″S 174°43′00″E and now lies at a depth of 98m.[3]

Of the 31 aboard, five were killed or drowned, and three seamen were injured, one seriously. Gale rescued the 26 survivors.[4]

The cargo boat Breeze was requisitioned as a replacement for Puriri.

HMS Puriri Memorial Ocean Beach, Whangarei Heads, New Zealand