Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BOMBING OF THE RAINBOW WARRIOR
On the morning of 10 July 1985, New Zealanders awoke to news reporting that a ter-
rorist attack had killed a man in Auckland Harbour. The Greenpeace flagship Rain-
bow Warriorhad been sunk at its anchorage at Marsden Wharf, where it was prepar-
ing to sail to Moruroa Atoll near Tahiti to protest against French nuclear testing.
A tip-off from a Neighbourhood Watch group eventually led to the arrest of two
French foreign intelligence service (DGSE) agents, posing as tourists. The agents
had detonated two mines on the boat in staggered explosions - the first designed to
cause the crew to evacuate and the second to sink her. However, after the initial
evacuation, some of the crew returned to the vessel to investigate and document
the attack. Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira was drowned below decks
following the second explosion.
The arrested agents pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10
years' imprisonment. In response, the French government threatened to embargo
NZ goods from entering the European Economic Community - which would have
crippled NZ's economy. A deal was struck whereby France paid $13 million to NZ
and apologised, in return for the agents being delivered into French custody on a
South Pacific atoll for three years. France eventually paid over $8 million to Green-
peace in reparation - and the bombers were quietly freed before their sentence was
served.
Initially French President François Mitterrand denied any government involvement
in the attack, but following an inquiry he eventually sacked his defence minister and
the head of the DGSE, Admiral Pierre Lacoste. On the 20th anniversary of the at-
tack, Le Mondenewspaper published a report from Lacoste dating from 1986, de-
claring that the president had personally authorised the operation.
The bombing left a lasting impact on NZ, and French nuclear testing at Moruroa
ceased for good in 1996. The wreck of the Rainbow Warriorwas resunk near North-
land's Cavalli Islands, where, today, it can be explored by divers. The masts were
bought by the Dargaville Museum and overlook the town. The memory of Fernando
Pereira endures in a peaceful bird hide in Thames, while a memorial to the boat sits
atop a Maori pa(fortified village) site at Matauri Bay, north of the Bay of Islands.
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Matauri & Tauranga Bays
It's a short detour from SH10, but the exceptionally scenic loop route leading inland to
these awesome beaches is a world away from the glitzy face presented for tourists in the
Bay of Islands.
