[1] The vessel was a 2,485-ton steel collier built in Leith, Scotland in 1949 by Henry Robb Limited for the Union Steam Ship Company.

[2] Her British Polar twin diesel main engines were prone to cut out and stop if the collier rolled more than about 15 degrees.

A red flare at 11.50pm bearing 23 degrees and between five and ten miles (8.0 and 16.1 km) away from the Cape Horn, but due to the proximity to Pandora Bank and the rough seas the search was held off until first light.

5 Squadron RNZAF Sunderland flying boat sighted an oil slick about one mile (1.6 km) north of Pandora Bank, and wreckage drifting towards the coast.

The search was continued by HMNZS Kiama, with the Hong Kong shipping lines fieghter Kweichow and the collier Kaiapoi joining on the 27 May.

The memorial consists of a plaque bearing the names of the crew and an anchor (not from the Kaitawa) mounted on a round concrete plinth.