19 Aug 2010

World war Turakina sinking

From Afternoons, 2:22 pm on 19 August 2010

Seventy years ago tomorrow, German guns sank the New Zealand steamer, Turakina, just 400 kilometers off the Taranaki coast. She was carrying some 4000 tons of lead, wheat, and dried fruit loaded at Australian ports when the she came across the German raider, the Orion. The Germans ordered the Turakina to stop. But with just one single 4.7-inch gun, the Turakina turned around to fight. 35 men lost their lives, the freighter was sunk and 21 survivors were taken prisoner of war. Duncan Kennedy says too many people have forgotten about the Turakina, and on the 70th anniversary of her sinking, he wants us to remember.