The diversity of the anti-nuclear movement encompassed many forms of protest throughout New Zealand. Varied tactics were employed
to strengthen the movement’s impact throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The use of petition stalls and submissions
were commonly used by groups and individuals to rally support for the
anti-nuclear cause. The overwhelming public support demonstrated how New
Zealanders were passionate about creating change and essentially how unified
the nation could be. Petitions were signed throughout the country and submitted
to parliament. Some of these petitions exceeded 80,000 signatures and addressed
many key issues, including the visits of American warships with nuclear
capabilities and also the nuclear testing in the Pacific. The Campaign Half Million
petition was created in 1976 and opposed nuclear power, weapons and warships. Although
it did not reach the target 500,000 signatures it did manage to collect close
to 400,000 signatures. 141 submissions were made to parliament by individuals
and professional organizations, where nuclear power and concern for the
environment were recurring topics. Of the petitions, letters and submissions
sent to parliament in the first 5 months of 1976, approximately 7:1 were
against the visits of nuclear warships and the use of nuclear power,
demonstrating the obvious opposition to nuclear energy and the intent of
ordinary New Zealanders to make substantial societal reform.
Large scale demonstrations occurred frequently, drawing
attention to the increasing support for an Nuclear-free New Zealand. These
marches grew larger as the movement reached its climax, proving that the unity
of the protestors increased with time. Wellington and Auckland were major
centres of protest throughout the 1970s and 1980s, where thousands marched in
Auckland over the two decades and protestors even participated in anti-American
demonstrations in Wellington to increase opposition towards nuclear warships.
Particular points of contention that drew many civilians into active
demonstrations were the arrival of US warships which contained nuclear arms or
were nuclear powered. The visits of USS Wainwright, USS Phoenix, USS America
and USS Providence all generated portside pickets and demonstrations opposed to
their anchorage in the harbour. Each time a different US vessel entered a New
Zealand port the movement against their anchorage grew larger and increasingly
unified as more people were becoming opposed to their visits. The movement held
one of its famous marches on August 6th 1976, also known as
Hiroshima Day. Marches occurred throughout the country to commemorate the 30
year anniversary of the most devastating use of nuclear power the world had
witnessed. There was unification among diverse groups on this day, where the
Labour party, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), labour unions and
students all worked together to generate awareness for the potential
destruction that nuclear weapons may cause. This march drew 6000 people to
Auckland was featured on the news. In Dunedin a smaller scale march took place
with 700 civilians marching to the Octagon. these demonstrations were also apparent in opposition to nuclear-armed or powered warships entering the country. Such large scale
action can be seen as a manifestation of smaller protests that progressed with
both size and intent as each American ship arrived in New Zealand. The USS
TruxtUn in 1983 was visiting New Zealand on a naval exercise, however 35,000
people protested in Auckland against the ships arrival, where waterfront unions
also joined the activists to support the anti-nuclear stance. The unification
of the various groups against the US ships arrival and the use of nuclear
weapons in warfare suggests that although there was initial positivity about
nuclear capabilities, that this had been replaced with resent and determination
to make New Zealand nuclear-free. such determination continued to gain increasing traction heading towards the passing of the nuclear-free legislation in 1987.
activities were not limited to mass protest, where
many activists undertook dangerous action in international waters. The protest against
the French testing in Moruroa was a key focus of the anti-nuclear campaign,
where it acted as an immediate cause that sparked varied protest throughout the
country. The varied protest as seen throughout the anti-nuclear campaign is
particularly evident in the voyages undertaken by activists, many of which were
prepared to die on these dangerous journeys. Although this form of protest was
undoubtedly provocative and designed to deliberately frustrate the French, no
violent tactics were employed. however There were some instances of civil disobedience,
where people chose to follow their conscience rather than the law and in doing
so highlighted their moral opposition to the nuclear testing. activists sailing into the testing zones were also well aware of the possible radiation they may be exposed to, however many still chose to continue to obstruct the testing. This determination to create change somewhat
reflects the change in conservative attitude throughout New Zealand, where
certain events radicalised the population, hence making it more acceptable for civilians to
challenge the ordinary. Organisations such as Peace Media, Peace Squadron and
Greenpeace were instrumental in organising such protest, where Peace Squadron
had over 70 registered boats and were constantly recruiting volunteers to join these
voyages. Throughout 1970 and 1980 many small vessels were sent to Muroroa to
obstruct the nuclear testing and essentially act as witnesses. However small
boats were not only sent to Muroroa to obstruct testing, but many were involved
with preventing US armed vessels attempting to dock themselves in New Zealand
ports. On the 27th July 1976 the USS Truxton arrived in New Zealand
and was met by over 100 Peace Squadron vessels. In October of the same year, 80
small vessels opposed the entrance of USS Long Beach. These protestors managed
to obstruct the boats path several times before it was able to successfully
anchor itself at the port. The USS Haddo arrived in 1979 and was greeted by an
overwhelming 200 small boats, where even kayakers and surfers joined the
crusade against the ships entry. Although it was extremely dangerous and
obviously provocative, many still chose to partake in voyages either
obstructing the ships or sailing into testing zones if it meant making headway
towards a nuclear-free New Zealand.
Along with individual and group protest, legal action was
also taken to prevent nuclear testing in the Pacific. The
Labour government under Norman Kirk was upfront in their opposition to nuclear
testing in the Pacific. In coalition with the Australian Labour government
Kirk’s administration took France to the World Court over the controversial
nuclear testing in 1973. This direct action resulted in an interim junction
being placed on France to stop them from continuing atmospheric testing. Although
France ignored the court order by continuing their testing in the Pacific, New
Zealand was not offered much substantial support by her allies, who did not
want to anger the French and create international disagreements or break their current alliances.
Despite the lack of support, this much smaller New Zealand government was
essentially challenging the more powerful French in the hope of creating
substantial change. This was relatively unusual as the superpowers were not often
challenged by smaller nations. When these legal actions did little to stop the
testing, New Zealanders opted for different tactics aimed at publicising the
testing and initiating negative connotations towards nuclear power. Such varied
activity was observed at the height of the movement in the late 1970s and 1980s.
The government under Norman Kirk continued to support the
anti-nuclear movement after legal action failed to produce any substantial
results.After the French essentially
ignored the legal action taken by the Labour governments of Australia and New
Zealand, Norman Kirk and his government chose to support the anti-nuclear
movement in their voyages. Two frigates were sent to Muroroa in 1973. The Otago and Canterbury were sent at the orders of Kirk’s administration to draw
international attention to the nuclear testing. Kirk’s government thus
made the conscious decision to reveal New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance to the
rest of the world by sending these vessels into the testing zones. Although it
was a bold move on the international scale, Kirk justifies his decision to send
the Otago when he argues “We are a
small nation but we will not abjectly surrender to injustice. We have worked
against the development of nuclear weapons. We have opposed their testing
anywhere and everywhere. Today the Otago
leaves on an honourable mission. She leaves not in anger but as a silent,
accusing witness with the power to bring alive the conscience of the world”. His
attitude reflects the identity of the anti-nuclear campaign where there were
recurring attempts to publicise the effects of nuclear activity through witness
photographs and accounts. Activists were in essence trying to initiate the
environmental conscience that had already established itself in New Zealand into
other nations. The support of successive Labour government played a pivotal
role in the passing of the nuclear-free New Zealand legislation in 1987, where
the culmination of years of effective protest manifested in the government
having to face the desires of the New Zealand public, even at the expense of
foreign relations.
The energy and creativity of groups and individuals
throughout New Zealand saw the anti-nuclear movement increase in size and
impact. The height of the protest movement occurred in the early 1980s, where
tactics involving almost every town in New Zealand were employed. The outrage
and resent towards nuclear testing in the Pacific generated overwhelming public
support for those conducting voyages to obstruct testing. The New Zealand public supplied many of these voyages with adequate resources to
complete their journeys. Vessels travelling into the Pacific were supplied with
dry food by approximately 40 dry goods manufacturers. Many private businesses
offered free fax machines, computers, photocopiers and stationary for the
Ponsonby Cruising Club, who maintained contact with the boats whilst they were
at sea. In Wellington alone there was $45000 given to three boats from
businesses and individuals. it is estimated that over $200,000 worth of time and
service was given to the New Zealand flotilla and that at least $40,000 was
given to boats heading to Muroroa. However New Zealanders also mobilised
themselves in the ant-nuclear campaign through the 400 different groups that
were represented in the movement. The informal declarations of many towns as
being ‘nuclear-free’ embodied the widespread nature of the campaign, where
smaller jurisdictions, not just the main centres, were backing the idea of removing nuclear energy and
visiting warships from New Zealand.
the publication of events and ideas
proved very effective in substantiating change in people’s attitudes and
organising protest. newspapers of the time strengthened the movements impact, where there were often many articles updating the nuclear protest. such articles were reinforced with a series of posters that were constructed primarily to generate more negative publicity surrounding the use of nuclear power and also the visits of American warships. within the movement itself there was an organized system that allowed effective protest to be initiated at short notice. the Auckland branch of the campaign for nuclear disarmament (CND) has a telephone tree system established to mobilize protestors and sailors quickly. this allowed nuclear warships such as the uss haddo to be surrounded by small protest vessels as it entered the harbour, even if there was little notice to its arrival. this was especially evident with the arrival of the us truxton, where the national government deliberately kept its visit away from the public in order to decrease the amount of planned protest. however this was effectively countered through the mobilization of protestors at short notice, and the effectiveness of this protest was that it stopped the ships entrance to the harbour numerous times and when It was docked it was met by a group of protestors on land. the coordinated petition stalls established in residential areas also proved essential for gathering volunteers. the strength of the movement was that it was able to spread its news and protest dates throughout the country without the access to social media as we have in the twenty first century.
the effect of these posters will be analysed in the primary document page.