Greenpeace New Zealand Weblog

10 July 1985, 11.38pm, a bomb explodes under the Rainbow Warrior making a hole the size of a car. This first act of terrorism on New Zealand soil killed Fernando Pereira, a Dutch photographer for Greenpeace, and sparked worldwide outrage that stopped the nuclear testing that the Rainbow Warrior was supposed to protest against.

In July 1985, Greenpeace had just renovated the Rainbow Warrior. It was fully ready to fulfill an important mission: stopping French nuclear testing in Moruroa, a French Atoll. A whole French special service team came to New Zealand to stop Greenpeace’s plans for a peaceful protest. One of those even worked at Greenpeace office as a volunteer and secretly investigated. Read more »

Waving goodbye to the Warrior (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Six weeks ago I packed my trunk in my bedroom in Grey Lynn Auckland, boarded a bus and rode downtown to Princes Wharf. There I walked up the gangway of the Rainbow Warrior. It was hot, late summer. American tourists crawled about the Viaduct. On the ship, there was excitement in the air and alleyways; a TARGET CLIMATE CHANGE banner ran between two masts. My cabin was downstairs and to the left. It had “Expect the unexpected” written on the door. I shared it with three others and it smelt like essential oils. I didn’t yet have my favourite spot to sit in the mess during dinner. And I didn’t yet know how to avoid pissing off the first mate. This would all come later. Read more »

In the 30 years that the Rainbow Warrior has sailed the oceans of the world it has touched the hearts of many but, perhaps more than anywhere, it is here in NZ that the Warrior is most loved.

After working in Indonesia late last year the Rainbow Warrior is now in New Zealand undergoing some repairs and getting a new coat of paint at the Whangarei shipyard. We’ll keep tabs on progress here over the coming weeks but first — a little history. Read more »