The reliability of the sources and the extent to which they produce historical accuracy is important to consider when conducting an analysis of an event.
Primary Document
Working paper Number 26
"Nuclear Allergy": New Zealand's Anti-Nuclear Stance and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone
Mack, Andrew (Canberra, February 1988)
National Library of Australia
Being written in 1988, the content contained in this document will have a viewpoint very relevant to the rupture of the ANZUS alliance. The events surrounding the split between the US and New Zealand was still very current, hence it is likely that the viewpoint established within the document is going to reflect the possible issues that could occur in the long-term. The author, Andrew Mack, has written extensively on the issues of international politics and conflict, where he has many different papers to his name. He is currently the director of the Human Security Report Project (HSRP) at Simon Fraser University. Thus there is no doubt that his credibility is sound and hence he is likely to provide accurate facts. The limitation of this source however is that it contains no secondary analysis, where it has not been revised in following years. This is a possible weakness as the secondary analysis may provide a better analysis of the consequences of the dissipation of ANZUS. Similarly the perspective he is likely to convey in his writings may have a slight tendency to reflect the Australian viewpoint rather than being entirely objective. Although he has written as objectively as possible, where his writings are obviously written with the intent to deliver the facts rather than a perspective, it must be noted that it may never truly be objective as his interpretation of events could be written with a particular historical 'lens' that relates to his personal experiences.
Secondary Text
Protest at Moruroa
Pond Eyley, Claudia (Tandem Press 1997)
This secondary text gives a brief overview of the protest at Moruroa, where the main focus of the text is to provide information on the voyages. There is a useful timeline included in the text, which contains different voyages, when they occurred and also the dates that the American vessels arrived in New Zealand. Another strength of this source was their inclusion of primary diary entries, however I did not eventually use these for analysis as they were very personal and not entirely relevant to my investigation. However if I were to investigate people's experiences then this text would be ideal. Claudia Pond Eyley is a renowned New Zealand artist, director and author, hence her work surrounding New Zealand events are likely to be accurate. Although there were no judgements made in this book, the timeline was useful for establishing key events.
Secondary Text
Big World, small country: the 20th Century and New Zealand's place in it
Ball, Graeme
2013 Cengage Learning Australia Ltd
This text was useful in that it included relevant factual information on many aspects of the anti-nuclear campaign. Although there were not many judgements made, the text was helpful in building a substantial case surrounding the actions of the era. This book was the only one to cover the initial enthusiasm towards nuclear energy. The various topics covered are the nuclear testing in the pacific, the legislation changes, the government actions, the methods of protest and the entry of nuclear-powered or armed vessels. This also contained valuable information on the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. The limitation of this book would be that it does not have any sections for analysing the event, and does not discuss its significance. Thus it was not useful for determining historical importance, although it did have adequate information on how society changed after the anti-nuclear campaign.
Secondary Text
Frontier of Dreams-the story of New Zealand
Edited by Bronwyn Dalley and Gavin McLean
Published by Crown Publishing, 2005
This text was also useful for identifying key facts to do with the actions taken and how these changes changed public opinion. There are good statistics in relation to the public opinion shift that occurred throughout the campaign. There is also a small discussion on the government reluctance to deal with the issue initially, where there was eventual action under Kirk. There is also some reference made to the consequences and how these impacted New Zealand society. However this is only a small chapter of a large history book, hence there were no judgements or conclusions reached about the event. Using this text aided in gathering further information regarding the actions taken, and also substantiated the facts I had gathered about the shift in public opinion.
Secondary Text
Secrets and Treasures: Our stories told through the objects at Archives New Zealand
Wary, Ray
Random House New Zealand, 2012
This secondary text is a very new publication, hence it has been revised to suit the current interpretation of events. There is some discussion on the initial enthusiasm, which aided in researching the initial reactions to nuclear energy. This was one of the only texts to cover the impact of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in relation to the fear of nuclear warfare. Similarly to other texts, there is also good information about the actions taken, where there is reference to the Campaign Half Million Petition. There is also a brief outline of the legislation passed in 1987, and some of its impacts on New Zealand society. There is also no firm judgement created, hence it was not useful in determining historical significance. However the use of a newer publication gave a more modern view of the impacts of this campaign.
Secondary Text
Peace, Power and Politics
Leadbeater, Maire
Otago University Press, 2013
This text was the most useful in regards to comprehensive coverage of the event. The single purpose of this text was to convey the events that occurred during the movement and it had a very good analysis of the historical significance of the event. The introduction and conclusion made analytical judgements that assessed the impacts the movement had on the New Zealand identity, political stance, international relations, and internal affairs. Similarly there was very comprehensive coverage on the effects this movement had on society and people, where there were plenty of statistics to back up the conclusions reached. Another strength of the text was that it contained numerous posters and primary images, which were used in the primary documents page. This gave an insight into how some of the posters were used and hence how they were so effective in publicising protest and the negative impacts of nuclear energy. The recent publication of the text gives it added value as it has most likely been revised to cater for new evidence and ideas that have come forward after the event. This may also aid in explaining why the effects sections of this text were so strong. This text was definitely the most useful as it analysed the event critically in terms of how it substantiated change and what resonance it still had in modern New Zealand.
Primary Document
Working paper Number 26
"Nuclear Allergy": New Zealand's Anti-Nuclear Stance and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone
Mack, Andrew (Canberra, February 1988)
National Library of Australia
Being written in 1988, the content contained in this document will have a viewpoint very relevant to the rupture of the ANZUS alliance. The events surrounding the split between the US and New Zealand was still very current, hence it is likely that the viewpoint established within the document is going to reflect the possible issues that could occur in the long-term. The author, Andrew Mack, has written extensively on the issues of international politics and conflict, where he has many different papers to his name. He is currently the director of the Human Security Report Project (HSRP) at Simon Fraser University. Thus there is no doubt that his credibility is sound and hence he is likely to provide accurate facts. The limitation of this source however is that it contains no secondary analysis, where it has not been revised in following years. This is a possible weakness as the secondary analysis may provide a better analysis of the consequences of the dissipation of ANZUS. Similarly the perspective he is likely to convey in his writings may have a slight tendency to reflect the Australian viewpoint rather than being entirely objective. Although he has written as objectively as possible, where his writings are obviously written with the intent to deliver the facts rather than a perspective, it must be noted that it may never truly be objective as his interpretation of events could be written with a particular historical 'lens' that relates to his personal experiences.
Secondary Text
Protest at Moruroa
Pond Eyley, Claudia (Tandem Press 1997)
This secondary text gives a brief overview of the protest at Moruroa, where the main focus of the text is to provide information on the voyages. There is a useful timeline included in the text, which contains different voyages, when they occurred and also the dates that the American vessels arrived in New Zealand. Another strength of this source was their inclusion of primary diary entries, however I did not eventually use these for analysis as they were very personal and not entirely relevant to my investigation. However if I were to investigate people's experiences then this text would be ideal. Claudia Pond Eyley is a renowned New Zealand artist, director and author, hence her work surrounding New Zealand events are likely to be accurate. Although there were no judgements made in this book, the timeline was useful for establishing key events.
Secondary Text
Big World, small country: the 20th Century and New Zealand's place in it
Ball, Graeme
2013 Cengage Learning Australia Ltd
This text was useful in that it included relevant factual information on many aspects of the anti-nuclear campaign. Although there were not many judgements made, the text was helpful in building a substantial case surrounding the actions of the era. This book was the only one to cover the initial enthusiasm towards nuclear energy. The various topics covered are the nuclear testing in the pacific, the legislation changes, the government actions, the methods of protest and the entry of nuclear-powered or armed vessels. This also contained valuable information on the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. The limitation of this book would be that it does not have any sections for analysing the event, and does not discuss its significance. Thus it was not useful for determining historical importance, although it did have adequate information on how society changed after the anti-nuclear campaign.
Secondary Text
Frontier of Dreams-the story of New Zealand
Edited by Bronwyn Dalley and Gavin McLean
Published by Crown Publishing, 2005
This text was also useful for identifying key facts to do with the actions taken and how these changes changed public opinion. There are good statistics in relation to the public opinion shift that occurred throughout the campaign. There is also a small discussion on the government reluctance to deal with the issue initially, where there was eventual action under Kirk. There is also some reference made to the consequences and how these impacted New Zealand society. However this is only a small chapter of a large history book, hence there were no judgements or conclusions reached about the event. Using this text aided in gathering further information regarding the actions taken, and also substantiated the facts I had gathered about the shift in public opinion.
Secondary Text
Secrets and Treasures: Our stories told through the objects at Archives New Zealand
Wary, Ray
Random House New Zealand, 2012
This secondary text is a very new publication, hence it has been revised to suit the current interpretation of events. There is some discussion on the initial enthusiasm, which aided in researching the initial reactions to nuclear energy. This was one of the only texts to cover the impact of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in relation to the fear of nuclear warfare. Similarly to other texts, there is also good information about the actions taken, where there is reference to the Campaign Half Million Petition. There is also a brief outline of the legislation passed in 1987, and some of its impacts on New Zealand society. There is also no firm judgement created, hence it was not useful in determining historical significance. However the use of a newer publication gave a more modern view of the impacts of this campaign.
Secondary Text
Peace, Power and Politics
Leadbeater, Maire
Otago University Press, 2013
This text was the most useful in regards to comprehensive coverage of the event. The single purpose of this text was to convey the events that occurred during the movement and it had a very good analysis of the historical significance of the event. The introduction and conclusion made analytical judgements that assessed the impacts the movement had on the New Zealand identity, political stance, international relations, and internal affairs. Similarly there was very comprehensive coverage on the effects this movement had on society and people, where there were plenty of statistics to back up the conclusions reached. Another strength of the text was that it contained numerous posters and primary images, which were used in the primary documents page. This gave an insight into how some of the posters were used and hence how they were so effective in publicising protest and the negative impacts of nuclear energy. The recent publication of the text gives it added value as it has most likely been revised to cater for new evidence and ideas that have come forward after the event. This may also aid in explaining why the effects sections of this text were so strong. This text was definitely the most useful as it analysed the event critically in terms of how it substantiated change and what resonance it still had in modern New Zealand.