The challenging years after World War II, Mataroa, a ship under the flag of New Zealand made 2 important trips across the Mediterranean Sea.
In August 1945, Mataroa travelled from Marseilles to Haifa, with 173 children on board, all Hebrew refugees saved by the OSE (Œuvre de secours aux enfants) Organization.

In December 1945, Mataroa was chartered by the director of the French Institute of Athens to board a significant number of students (most of them scholars of the french state), in order to help them flea political prosecutions: philosophers Kornelios Kastoriadis and Kostas Axelos, painter Nelly Andrikopoulou, sculptor Kostas Koulentianos, writer Mimika Kranaki, philologist Emmanuel Kriaras, architect Georges Kandilis, just to name a few, were among the list of its later famous passengers.

In 2019, Mataroa becomes the inspiration for Mataroa Mediterranean Dry Gin. The ship is transformed into a bottle and the load is not people, but 12 precious ingredients from the Mediterranean coast. As for the premium blend, it symbolizes the strength of the human spirit, the devotion to excellence and the continuity of this unique land.