HMNZS Monowai.

[BECA@CLEAR.NET.NZ]

I always had a 'soft spot' for this ship as I once owned a company named Monowai Systems Ltd.
Monowai is part Latin and Part Maori meaning 'One Water" I believe.
The picture was given to me by the NZ Army Photographic Inteligence Section many years ago.

[kookaburra]

Exceptionally nice pic Colin - thanks for posting. There's a good colour pic of Monowai also at post #31 of the Warships of New Zealand thread if you haven't already noticed it - also a pic of her name predecessor, the WW11 AMC Monowai in post #4 of the same thread: so your company was well-named.

Some details on Monowai [11]:

Completed in 1960 by Grangemouth Dockyard Co Ltd as the Cook Island cargo and passenger vessel Moana Roa, and acquired by the RNZN in 1974. Converted to a survey vessel by Scott Lithgow Drydocks in Scotland, and entered service with the Navy on Oct 4, 1977.

She was 3800 tons standard, 4027 tons full load.

Fitted with a stern helicopter deck with an extending hangar, she carried one 103m (I think that must be 10.3m) survey motor boat, two 9.4m aluminium mbs, a 7.3 m motor boat , had a forward crane and a Rotork sea truck. She was armed with two two 20mm Oerlikons, had two inflatable Zodiac craft, two winches for Oceonographic work, and had a large hold capable of carrying vehicles for survey work ashore.

Complement of 126.

She was decommissioned on April 21, 1998, and sold to English interests later that year and steamed to Lowestoft, U.K. where the intention was to convert her to a small luxury cruise ship. This plan eventually proved to be uneconomical, she suffered a small engineroom fire, and in 2002 she was sold to Spanish shipbreakers.
She was taken to Puerto De Santa Maria in Cadiz, and was there in 2003 awaiting breaking up. And that's the last word I have on her.

There's an article here by a former CO about her experiences in a major storm on Queens Birthday weekend 1994, when she rescued people from a foundering Australian yacht.

http://www.bluesuit.co.nz/1994.htm


Also another pic, but not not nearly so good as yours, or the one on the other thread. Cheers, K.

[BECA@CLEAR.NET.NZ]

Thank you Kookaburra.
It was great to recieve all that information on Monowai. I remember the 1999 storm episode, also watching the TV show about the events.
The Monowai was going up and down like a fiddlers elbow was'nt she? Certainly the TV show would give the 'landlubbers' some idea of the conditions sailors sometimes have to work under.
I used to have a lot of pictures that I was given by the NZ forces but many have vanished over the years, to my sorrow.
Again many thanks for your very informative post.
Regards.

[Robert McDougall]

Monowai was powered by a pair of Sulzer diesels, had cabins for the crew,luxury. Well as we were coming through the Hauraki gulf to Auckland we passed her as she left for Scotland and her refit. The guys that stayed for the refit had a ball in Scotland, some learning to drink whisky the scots way. As an aside her original name Moana means Ocean and Roa means long or long time depending on the context.

[Boy Robinson]

Hi everyone have just joined the forum,what an excellent place for info. My grandfather served on monowai no 2 during ww2. Has anyone got a good picture of her as i'm going through his war records to find out where he was and what he did as no one in the family knows.

[astraltrader]

Hi BR here is a picture of Monowai for you.

[Boy Robinson]

Hi BR here is a picture of Monowai for you.

Thank you.

[MelQuick]

Hi BR here is a picture of Monowai for you.

Hi Terry

I've not seen that one before - OK to download it?

Mel

[astraltrader]

Help yourself Mel - I am not sure where I got it from anyway! :)

[GUGIRL]

Hi everyone have just joined the forum,what an excellent place for info. My grandfather served on monowai no 2 during ww2. Has anyone got a good picture of her as i'm going through his war records to find out where he was and what he did as no one in the family knows.

Hi Boy,
My Grandfather also served on the Monowai #2 during world war II. In fact spent a great deal of time on her. Do you know what rank your grandfather was? I've got so many photos here which I'm unable to identify people in. Perhaps our grandfathers knew each other?
If you are happy to share your grandfather's name, I'd be happy to see if he is mentioned in any of the things I have got, if you were able to do the same?
My grandfather's name was Donald Gibsone, he was a Chief Petty Officer.
Hope to hear from you soon.... regards Haley