This account dates Tairoa's sinking to 3 December, while acknowledging that published dates differ. Admiral Graf Spee caught her during her regular Brisbane-to-London voyage. Her refrigerated holds carried the principal cargo, while "general cargo" meant other goods packed into whatever space remained. The ship combined specialist refrigerated work with a mixed load of additional goods. Her ordinary route was part of the long-distance merchant traffic exposed to German surface raiders in the South Atlantic.
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Tairoa's Brisbane-to-London cargo route
Tairoa's regular Brisbane-to-London service shows how a refrigerated ship could carry its principal cargo alongside whatever general cargo fit in the remaining space.