Turakina Street

This Merrilands street is named after a merchant ship called the Turakina that had visited Port Taranaki.

Three such vessels were named Turakina, but the one most likely to have given its name to the street was built in 1923 and was sunk off the coast of Taranaki during World War Two.

This Turakina was a New Zealand Shipping Company steamer of 8706 tonnes and was a frequent visitor to New Zealand waters. On its fateful voyage on 20 August 1940, it was en route from Sydney to Wellington carrying 4000 tonnes of cargo. It was scheduled to collect more cargo at Wellington and proceed to its destination in England. When it was 300 miles from the Taranaki coast, things went horribly wrong.

Lurking in the Tasman was the German Raider Orion, on a mission to seek and destroy unaccompanied merchant vessels of the allied forces.

The Orion ordered the Turakina to stop and not to use the wireless. Captain J.B. Laird chose instead to ignore the commands and carried on at full speed, while activating the distress alarm that signalled the vessel's location and that it was in trouble.

Orion's response was to open fire with repeated salvos. The Turakina's defences were inferior, so despite gallant efforts by the British crew, the ship was destroyed. Of the 55 crew on board, 20 survived, while 35, including the captain, died aboard the vessel. The survivors were taken prisoner by the Germans, with some ending up in German POW camps. Captain Laird was posthumously acknowledged for his brave efforts.

It seems the Orion and its crew had a taste for destruction and were thought to have sunk three other vessels in New Zealand waters; the MV Rangitane, the Niagara and the Holmwood. It was also responsible for laying mines, which struck and destroyed several vessels. It became known as The Black Raider in the New Zealand and Australian press.

The Orion was eventually hit by Russian bombs and sunk in May 1945 while transporting German refugees across the Baltic.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.