A unique war memorial stands in a prominent position on State Highway 3 in the tiny Taranaki township of Mokau. It is a mine painted red and mounted on a concrete base. The mine washed ashore at Mokau Heads on 2 December 1942 and was put on display after the war.
The plaque at the base reads:
LET THIS GERMAN MINE FOUND
DECEMBER 2ND 1942 REMIND US
IN THE DAYS OF PEACE. WITHOUT
VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH.
Plaque donated by
MOKAU PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION
Although its authenticity as a German mine has been questioned, it seems likely that it was laid by one of the German raiders Pinguin or Passet off South Australia towards the end of 1940.
See: 80th Jubilee: Mokau School, Mokau,1975, p. 12; 'Our war secret exposed', Taranaki Daily News, 16/2/2009; Peter Cooke and Ian Maxwell, Great Guns: The Artillery Heritage of New Zealand, Wellington, 2013, p. 258; Mokau War Memorial Mine, WWII, Kete New Plymouth, 2008-2016.
Bruce Ringer, 2017