Press Release – Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Merchant Navy Day will be marked by a national commemoration on Wednesday 3 September at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.
Maheno at Port Chalmers, 1915
The hospital ship Maheno fully dressed and nearing completion at Port Chalmers mid-1915.
“Please join us to mark this Merchant Navy Day at Pukeahu, and remember the efforts and people of what is regarded as the ‘fourth service’ alongside the army, navy and air forces,” says Kartini Havell, Acting Deputy Secretary Delivery & Investment at Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
“Merchant Navy Day honours the thousands of civilian seafarers who served aboard merchant vessels during wartime, delivering troops, supplies and medical aid across perilous seas. Merchant Navy Day is observed on 3 September to mark the sinking of the first British merchant ship in 1939, just hours after the Second World War began.
“The Merchant Navy has a critical place in our service history. Merchant vessels and the many New Zealanders who served on them played an essential role in the Battle of the Atlantic, one of the longest and most dangerous campaigns of the Second World War.
“The commemoration will recognise the vital role of hospital ships, such as the Maheno in the First World War and the Maunganui in the Second World War, which carried wounded service personnel to safety under dangerous wartime conditions. The hospital ships and their crews’ humanitarian service saved countless lives.
The hospital ship ‘Maunganui’ in Lyttelton Harbour.
“This year’s ceremony will acknowledge several significant anniversaries, including 110 years since the Maheno served off the coast of Gallipoli, and 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
His Majesty’s New Zealand Hospital Ship No. 2. and given the prefix HMHS (His Majesty’s Hospital Ship).
SS Marama was an ocean liner belonging to the Union Company of New Zealand from 1907 to 1937. She was a hospital ship in World War I as His Majesty’s New Zealand Hospital Ship No. 2.
“Merchant Navy Day provides an opportunity for New Zealanders to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of those who served at sea, and those who said goodbye to those they loved. Nau mai ki Pukeahu, please join us for this important commemoration,” Havell says.
About the event:
People wishing to attend this year’s commemoration are asked to arrive at the Hall of Memories at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park by 10.45am for an 11.00am start.
Please note that the Carillon Tower is currently closed for seismic strengthening. The Hall of Memories was strengthened in 2015 and is safe to enter.
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