HMNZS Hautapu was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class trawlers built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.

The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country's limited ship construction facilities at the time.

[3][4] In 1947, Hautapu was involved in the 1947 Royal New Zealand Navy mutinies, with a party of sailors giving a note to the captain stating that they were dissatisfied with the handling of lower-deck committees and that they would not work until their issues were resolved.

On 4 November 1963, Hautapu struck an unidentified object and was run aground off the Marlborough east coast, damaging the rudder, and was pulled towards the beach despite her being in full astern.

[10] She was cut up in 1972–1973 by divers of the Royal New Zealand Navy, with the floating crane Hikitia raising the sections ashore to be scrapped.