Seventy-six years ago today, the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, renamed the Port Line Ltd on November 11, 1937, took delivery of the motor ship Port Chalmers from the Newcastle yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham, Richardson Ltd.
Almost 32 years later, the Nan Feng Steel Enterprise firm began demolishing the vessel at Kaohsiung on November 11, 1965.
The ship was a well-known visitor to both Dunedin and its name port over its years of service.
The 8717gt vessel arrived at Port Chalmers for the last time on May 7, 1965, and departed direct for Hull 12 days later.
It was notable in being the first unit of the fleet to be equipped especially for the carriage of large quantities of chilled beef.
Wartime service included two convoy voyages to Malta, the first in July 1941.
As part of the epic August 1942 14-ship convoy, Port Chalmers was one of only five ships that reached the beleaguered island. Incidentally, the ship had more decorations won by its crew than any other unit of the fleet during the war.
But an earlier chapter in the vessel's career has mostly been overlooked.
It relates to the significant role it played in helping to bring about the demise of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.
The latest account of the episode appears in local shipping historian Ian Farquhar's The Tyser Legacy, published in 2006.
Doric Star, the raider's seventh victim, was attacked on December 2, 1939, when homeward bound in the South Atlantic.
The vessel was instructed to stop and to cease using its wireless, which had already sent out the special RRR (enemy warship) message indicating that it was under attack.
This message was picked up by Port Chalmers, which was in the vicinity and also homeward bound.
The ship repeated the message for some time until it was acknowledged by shore stations in South Africa.
The following day, Tairoa was sunk by the warship.
Once again, Port Chalmers picked up the victim's radio message and kept repeating the signals.
These convinced the Admiralty to send a cruiser force in pursuit of the enemy vessel. The result was the Battle of the River Plate, which led to the eventual scuttling of the pocket battleship south of Punta Yeguas, two hours after it left Montevideo harbour on the evening of December 17, 1939.
When they were lost, Doric Star was homeward bound from New Zealand and Tairoa from Australia.
The 10,093gt Blue Star Line turbine steamer was completed at Port Glasgow by Lithgows Ltd in October 1921, as Doricstar.
The name was altered to Doric Star in 1929 and in 1934 the appearance of the vessel was changed considerably when it was lengthened and fitted with a Maierform bow.
Shaw, Savill and Albion's steamer, Tairoa, was a 7983gt delivery in July 1920 from the Armstrong-Whitworth yard at Newcastle.
The Admiral Graf Spee, launched by the Wilhelmshaven Dockyard on June 30, 1934, and commissioned in 1936, left Wilhelmshaven on August 21, 1939, fully equipped for war. The first of its nine victims , southeast of Pernambuco on September 30, was the Booth Steam Ship Company's 5051gt Clement.
Next, both 700 miles off Africa, were the 4651gt Newton Beech on October 5 and the 4222gt Ashley two days later. Then off the Cape of Good Hope, Harrison's 8196gt Huntsman was sunk on October 10 and Hain's 5350gt Trevanion 12 days later.
No further attacks took place until November 15, when the small 706gt tanker Africa Shell was sunk in the Mozambique Channel.
Finally, on December 7, the 3895gt Streonshal was dispatched in the South Atlantic.
Six days later, when chasing the French liner Formosa, the raider's lookout spotted the approaching cruisers, HMS Ajax, HMS Exeter, and HMNZSAchilles.
The events that followed, the first major sea battle of the war, forced the damaged enemy vessel to flee to the neutral Uruguayan port where authorities would only allow the vessel to stay 72 hours to effect repairs.
