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Protest and dissent - New Zealand and the Cold War

Anti-Vietnam War poster, 1966

Questioning the Cold War

The fall of South Vietnam in 1975 did not have the dire consequences predicted by ‘domino’ theorists. Although the Indochina dominos – Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos – fell to communism, the rest of South-East Asia remained politically stable. With boundaries in the region settled, the focus of the Cold War shifted away from Asia and the need for ‘forward defence’ diminished. These changes, together with the anti-Vietnam War movement, ushered in a new era of debate about Cold War policies and New Zealand’s place in the world.

MAD

The doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) states that the full-scale use of weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would result in the complete annihilation of both attacker and defender. Developed by US mathematician John von Neumann, MAD was seen as helping prevent a direct full-scale conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

These challenges to the Cold War consensus were, in part, fostered by the rise of the non-aligned movement in the 1960s. Led by Indonesia, India, Yugoslavia, Egypt and Ghana, the movement comprised countries which did not want formally to ally themselves with either Cold War power bloc. The United States and the Soviet Union soon found themselves competing for favour among the non-aligned states. Neither side made major gains, although their support of client states in Central America and Africa caused periodic alarm.

‘Dètente’

Behind this diplomatic manoeuvring, both ‘superpowers’ continued to enhance and enlarge their arsenals of nuclear weapons. Despite this nuclear build-up, the prospect of ‘mutual assured destruction’ limited the threat of direct confrontation. This became apparent after the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when, faced with the threat of war, the Soviet Union withdrew nuclear missiles it had begun to instal in Cuba. From 1969 both sides entered negotiations to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. This period of co-operation was known as ‘détente’.

Mururoa Atoll nuclear bomb test, 1970

Peace movement

The Cuban crisis turned global opinion against the proliferation of nuclear arms. New Zealanders joined a growing international peace movement concerned at the devastating potential of nuclear weapons. Nuclear testing in the Pacific by Britain, the US, and France during the 1950s and 1960s heightened these fears. In 1974 the Labour government proposed the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the South Pacific, and this was eventually ratified in 1985.

Protest against French nuclear testing

Protest march against French nuclear testing in the Pacific, Willis St, Wellington, 1972.

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/4-020364-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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1970s

New directions - Royal NZ Navy

Organisational changes

Peter Phipps

The independence of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as a service came to an end when the Ministry of Defence (created in July 1963) was reconstituted to incorporate all three armed services on 1 January 1964. Navy chief Peter Phipps, who had been promoted to the rank of vice-admiral as chief of the defence staff, had been heavily involved in establishing the new structure. Although the Navy Department (which had been set up in 1954 from the previous Navy Office) ceased to exist, the naval board continued to sit as the RNZN’s governing body until 1971, when all the service boards were abolished. (Apart from Phipps, only two other RNZN officers, Neil Anderson (1980-83) and Somerford Teagle (1991-95), have held the highest rank in New Zealand’s defence organisation.)

In November 1989, when the New Zealand Defence Force was created, separate from the Ministry of Defence, the RNZN’s status as a separate service continued – as it does today, despite an increasing emphasis on joint operations.

Anti-nuclear protest

HMNZS Otago

In June 1973 the Norman Kirk-led Labour government dispatched the frigate Otago with a Cabinet minister on board to the vicinity of Mururoa Atoll to protest French nuclear testing there. Otago was later relieved by Canterbury. A National administration would take similar action 22 years later when it sent the research vessel HMNZS Tui to the same location with ministers aboard.

Anzac frigates

During the 1980s, as a stopgap measure, two Leander-class frigates, HMNZS Wellington and Southland, were acquired as replacements for Taranaki and Otago. The four frigate force limped into the 1990s, but crew shortages impacted on the ability to keep Waikato in service.

In 1989 the Labour government reluctantly agreed to the purchase of two Anzac-class frigates, to be built in Australia with significant involvement of New Zealand industry. Part of an Australian initiative to boost naval power in the South Pacific, the project caused much contoversy in New Zealand. HMNZS Te Kaha and Te Mana duly joined the fleet, replacing Wellington and Southland in 1997 and 1999 respectively. An option on two further Anzacs was not taken up.

When Canterbury decomissioned in 2005, the RNZN was reduced to a two-frigate navy (and New Zealand thus returned to the 1880s configuration of two major warships in local waters).

Peacekeeping roles

With the end of the Cold War following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, New Zealand focused more heavily on peacekeeping operations. Among these were efforts to end conflict in the Balkans following the painful break up of Yugoslavia and also closer to home in the Pacific. The RNZN supplied personnel for a number of peacekeeping operations, including Cambodia in the 1990s; they were involved in river and coastal patrols. In 1990 three RNZN warships provided a venue for peace talks in Bougainville.

The frigates Wellington and Canterbury were also involved in policing UN resolutions relating to Iraq in the Arabian and Persian gulfs as part of the Multinational Interception Force in 1995-96.

The largest peacekeeping operation involving the RNZN occurred in 1999 in East Timor. When Indonesian militias went on a rampage following the East Timorese decision to separate from Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand deployed forces to the island as part of INTERFET. Te Kaha (later replaced by Canterbury) was involved as part of an international naval force deployed in the vicinity of the island, supported by the supply ship HMNZS Endeavour.

RNZN personnel have served in the provincial reconstruuction team that New Zealand has maintained in Bamiyan Province since 2003, and continue to do so.

Assistance to the community

The navy continues to assist the community in a variety of non-military fields, both as a matter of routine and in one-off situations. New Zealand warships are deployed from time to time to provide relief in South Pacific islands stricken by extreme weather events. Within New Zealand the RNZN’s activities in the field have ranged from the 1951 use of naval personnel on the wharves during the waterfront dispute to assistance to earthquake-battered Christchurch in 2011. Search and rescue and fisheries protection are other important areas in which naval assistance has been provided – and continues to be.

The RNZN has had long involvement in hydrography. From 1949 this role was undertaken by the survey ship HMNZS Lachlan, later replaced by HMNZS Monowai. Until the 1990s the RNZN had regulatory functions in this maritime sphere. The current hydrographic vessel, HMNZS Resolution, was acquired during the 1990s.

The navy today

HMNZS Te Kaha

Apart from the two Anzac frigates, the RNZN today is configured to support Defence Force operations. A multi-role vessel, HMNZS Canterbury, commissioned in 2007, is capable of carrying 250 troops. The fleet also comprises a replenishment ship HMNZS Endeavour, two offshore patrol vessels HMNZS Otago and Wellington, four inshore patrol vessels, a diving support ship and a hydrographic survey ship. On 1 January 2011 the navy had 2135 regular personnel, 332 naval reservists and 375 civilian staff. Almost a quarter of the RNZN’s personnel are female.

Post-war operations - Royal NZ Navy

HMNZS Black Prince

After the Second World War the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), like all the services, faced difficulties readjusting to peacetime conditions – not only in drastically reducing numbers but also in determining the shape of the post-war fleet. On the other hand, there was much wartime surplus equipment available, and New Zealand took advantage of this to acquire six Loch-class frigates (HMNZS Tutira, Pukaki, Taupo, Rotoiti, Kaniere, and Hawea) in 1949. These would supplement a force still based around two cruisers, the Dido-class HMNZS Black Prince and Bellona, which replaced Achilles and Gambia shortly after the war.

Middle East commitment

Defence plans by the end of the 1940s were dominated by the developing Cold War between the Soviet Union and its former wartime allies in the West, led by the United States. They centred on preparing to fulfil the so-called Middle East pledge – the promise to provide forces immediately for the defence of Egypt in the event of war with the Soviet Union. The government promised to send all surplus naval capacity to the region. Readiness was enhanced by the exchange of frigates with the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet in 1950.

Korean War

HMNZS Pukaki

In the event, the RNZN became involved in a conflict in a very different setting. The Korean War erupted in June 1950 when North Korea, believed in the West to be a Soviet puppet, invaded its southern neighbour. After the US secured a Security Council resolution calling on members to support South Korea, the New Zealand government agreed to provide naval forces for the UN effort. Two frigates, Pukaki and Tutira, deployed immediately and reached the theatre in early August. They began escorting ships between Japan and the South Korean port of Pusan. In mid-September 1950 they escorted troopships to Inch’on, where the UN landing transformed the war, leading to the rapid liberation of South Korea.

When UN forces attempted to occupy North Korea, China intervened and threw them back. The frontline eventually stabilised near the 38th Parallel, the former border between the two Koreas. An armistice brought the fighting to an end in July 1953. Throughout the war New Zealand sustained its naval contribution, with all six frigates serving tours with the UN Command. The ships formed part of a British squadron which operated mainly on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, patrolling in search of enemy craft and protecting various South Korean-held islands. In all, about 1300 RNZN personnel served in the Korean War; two lost their lives, one during a shore raid on North Korea by HMNZS Rotoiti in August 1951.

Malayan Emergency

During the 1950s New Zealand’s defence focus shifted from the Middle East to South-east Asia.

Nuclear tests

The RNZN played a small part in the British nuclear testing programme in the Pacific. Its hydrographic survey vessel surveyed sites in the Line Islands, and the frigates Pukaki and Rotoiti acted as weather ships during four tests at Christmas Island in 1957.

In 1955 New Zealand agreed to supply forces in peacetime for the British Commonwealth Strategic Reserve, which would provide the initial response to any attack on the region by China. As a result one RNZN frigate was stationed in Singapore. Although intended to meet a ‘hot war’ situation, the reserve forces became involved in guerrilla warfare then wracking Malaya.

The Malayan Emergency had been in place since 1948, as the authorities battled mainly Chinese guerrillas – ‘communist terrorists’ (CTs), as they were known. New Zealand frigates occasionally took part in shore bombardments of CT positions.

Re-configuration

HMNZS Waikato

By the 1960s the RNZN, like the other armed services, faced the problem of replacing now obsolesent war surplus equipment. The Lochs in particular were nearing the end of their useful life. Two Rothesay-class frigates (HMNZS Otago and Taranaki) arrived early in the decade. A Leander-class frigate, HMNZS Waikato, the RNZN’s first ship designed to embark a helicopter, joined them in 1966. A fourth frigate, the Leander-class HMNZS Canterbury, was added in 1971, replacing HMNZS Blackpool, which had been borrowed from the Royal Navy.

Meanwhile the RNZN’s cruiser era had come to an end. Black Prince reverted to the Royal Navy in 1961. The last cruiser acquired by the RNZN, HMNZS Royalist, another Dido-class, was by the mid-1960s becoming a liability. Its final Far East deployment ended ignominiously when it had to be towed back to New Zealand, after breaking down in the Solomon Islands. It was scrapped in 1966.

Confrontation and Vietnam

During the 1960s the RNZN became involved in yet another conflict in South-east Asia, stemming from Indonesia’s 'Konfrontasi' policy towards the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. This took the form of armed incursions in Malaya and Borneo. Two minesweepers – HMNZS Hickleton and Santon – deployed to carry out anti-infiltration patrols in Borneo waters and in the Malacca and Singapore straits. The frigate Taranaki was also involved. This commitment ended in 1966 when Indonesia abandoned its campaign.

Hopes within the RNZN that New Zealand might contribute a warship to the US-led effort in support of South Vietnam went unrealised, the government proving reluctant to face the cost of shore bombardments. Instead, the RNZN commitment in Vietnam was confined to medics. Most of the 26 RNZN personnel who served in Vietnam did so in a joint services medical unit, which operated in Binh Dinh province from 1967 to 1971. Subsequently a few served with one of two New Zealand training teams deployed to Vietnam.

'French letter' by Herbs

See the official video for 'French Letter' at NZOnScreen.

'French letter'

Herbs are considered pioneers of the Pacific reggae sound. During the 1980s and early 1990s they had 10 Top 20 hits. One of these, 'Slice of heaven' (with Dave Dobbyn) from the Footrot Flats movie soundtrack, reached number one on both the New Zealand and Australian charts.

Herbs' music was described as ‘infectiously upbeat’, and it often carried a political message. Their 1982 hit 'French letter', questioning French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, came to express the country's anti-nuclear stance. It spent 11 weeks on the charts, peaking at number 15. Its use of a French accordion in combination with a reggae beat helped to create a distinctive Pacific sound.

The song's title was considered too risqué for radio. It was released under the alternative title of ‘Letter to the French’. It was re-released in 1995 to protest against the French resumption of nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll.

Herbs’ songs of gentle protest about French nuclear testing in the Pacific and their adoption of a reggae rhythm won them many friends outside New Zealand … if indeed there is such a thing as a rock sound of the Pacific, then it is epitomised in the music of Herbs.

Bryan Staff & Sheran Ashley, For the record: a history of the recording industry in New Zealand, 2002

This video clip is sourced from YouTube website. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage does not take any responsibility for the copyright status of this video.

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Nuclear-free stamp

New Zealand’s nuclear-free policy is celebrated in The A to Z of New Zealand stamp series produced by New Zealand Post in 2008.

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New Zealand Post

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David Lange

Seven years and one stomach-stapling operation after entering Parliament in 1977, David Lange became PM a month before his 42nd birthday. The baby-boomers had ousted Robert Muldoon’s RSA generation and Lange’s youthful Cabinet ‘heaved and bubbled like a Rotorua mud pool with new ideas, some equally volcanic.’

The son of a Christian socialist doctor, Lange got through university by working at the freezing works. He described himself as a lawyer who had ‘adventures in smart-alec advocacy.’

Obese, scruffy, but brilliantly witty, Lange re-energised a caucus that was still recovering from its 1975 thrashing. In 1982, by now slimmer and better presented, he replaced Bill Rowling. Two years later he defeated Muldoon. In 1987 he achieved a goal that had eluded Labour PMs since the 1940s – a second term. His press conferences sparkled with wit and humour. He let off steam by driving rally cars.

As minister of foreign affairs, Lange championed Labour’s anti-nuclear policy. He enhanced his international reputation with a masterful performance in the widely televised Oxford Union debate in March 1985. Arguing that ‘nuclear weapons are morally indefensible’, Lange drew thunderous applause with his now famous reply to a young conservative: ‘hold your breath just for a moment. I can smell the uranium on it as you lean toward me!’ In his second term he took the education portfolio and oversaw ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’, which decentralised educational decision-making.

It seemed like a revolution. Labour made gay sex legal, gave te reo Māori official status, let the Waitangi Tribunal consider historical claims, removed subsidies, tore down tariff barriers, reformed local government, trimmed and restructured the public service and sold state assets.

But the mounting social cost of ‘Rogernomics’ (as Roger Douglas’s neo-liberal economics was known) unsettled Lange. In turn, he destablised his own government by taking unilateral positions on tax and on foreign affairs. After losing control of Cabinet, he resigned in August 1989. He sat out Labour’s difficult last months as attorney-general.

In 1992 Lange, now divorced from wife Naomi, married his former speechwriter, Margaret Pope. Four years later he left Parliament. His later years were complicated by health problems, financial worries and alcohol, but they also brought love and a new family.

Written by Gavin McLean

See also:

Biography of David Lange (DNZB)
Biography of David Lange (Wikipedia)
Premiers and Prime Ministers of New Zealand

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Norman Kirk

In 1972 Norman Kirk broke National’s 12-year-long grip on the Treasury benches and became Labour’s first New Zealand-born PM.

Kirk was from the working class. He built his own house. He had little formal education but like earlier Labour leaders, he read widely and became a skilled debater. He won Lyttelton in 1957 and eight years later became leader of the opposition.

After narrowly losing the 1969 election, Kirk swept up his image and that of his party, which won handsomely in 1972 with the slogan ‘It’s time’. His ministry included many young faces.

Kirk’s interest in foreign affairs brought new links with Africa and Asia. He campaigned strongly against French nuclear testing in the Pacific. At some cost politically, he also prevented a racially selected Springbok rugby team from touring.

At home, Kirk’s ministry brought a new sense of national identity, launching the Shipping Corporation, creating an author’s fund and restructuring broadcasting. Waitangi Day became New Zealand Day. A photograph of Kirk walking hand-in-hand with a young Maori boy across the marae remains an enduring image of his prime ministership. His government reformed Maori land law and took significant steps towards the settlement of land claims. Perhaps its most far-reaching innovation was the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, which set up the Waitangi Tribunal.

‘Big Norm’, as a pop band dubbed him, weakened as the economy staggered under the impact of the first oil price shock. In August 1974 he died in hospital. Thousands attended his state funeral.

Written by Gavin McLean

See also:

Biography of Norman Kirk on the DNZB website
Norman Kirk The First 250 Days (NZ On Screen)
Listen to the song ‘Big Norm’ (Don Wilson music website)
Premiers and Prime Ministers of New Zealand

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USS Buchanan refused entry to NZ

New Zealand’s Labour government refused the USS Buchanan entry because the United States would neither confirm nor deny that the warship had nuclear capability. David Lange’s government, elected in July 1984, had made clear its intention to pursue policies that would establish New Zealand as a nuclear-free country. This was a popular stand, and by the end of the year nearly 40 towns and boroughs had declared themselves nuclear-free. Labour announced its decision to ban ships that were either nuclear-powered or -armed. The US policy of non-disclosure of nuclear weapons led to a stalemate.

The US decided to test the new government’s resolve. In late 1984 it requested a visit by the guided missile destroyer USS Buchanan, an older ship that was unlikely to be nuclear-armed. The Americans hoped it would therefore slip under the political radar. ‘Near-uncertainty was not now enough for us,’ Lange recalled. ‘Whatever the truth of its armaments, its arrival in New Zealand would be seen as a surrender by the government.’ He hoped the Americans would offer to send something less ambiguous, but it was the Buchanan or nothing.

On 4 February 1985 the government said no. Within days Washington severed visible intelligence and military ties with New Zealand and downgraded political and diplomatic exchanges. US Secretary of State George Schultz confirmed that the United States would no longer maintain its security guarantee to New Zealand, although the ANZUS treaty structure remained in place.

Image: USS Buchanan anti-nuclear cartoon

Classroom ideas - nuclear-free New Zealand

This page outlines how the feature on nuclear-free New Zealand could be used by teachers and students of social studies and history. Senior students, in particular may find this summary useful in helping to prepare then for those achievement objectives which explore the causes and consequences of historical events of significance to New Zealand and New Zealanders.

We welcome feedback. Please use the comments box at the bottom of this page.

Nuclear-free New Zealand

From the early 1970s to the mid-1980s two key issues emerged in New Zealand about nuclear power. One was opposition to French nuclear tests at Mururoa and the second was opposition to American warships visiting New Zealand. In July 1985 the nuclear debate in New Zealand came to a head when French Secret Service agents sunk the Greenpeace flagship, Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland harbour.

This feature is of great value to teachers and students working at various levels.

Social studies

Classes at Levels 4 and 5 could use the nuclear-free New Zealand debate to look at the causes and effects of a significant event or issue from New Zealand's past. How did the actions of people at this time influence the lives of individual people, and how was New Zealand society as a whole shaped by this event? How did New Zealanders participate individually and collectively in response to this issue? For New Zealand, what were the consequences of the decision to become nuclear-free? What was New Zealand's international profile as a result of this issue? This could be part of a broader study of New Zealand making a stand as a small nation, and it could be broken down into smaller parts that considered French testing and ship visits.

NCEA Level 1 history

The nuclear-free debate raised questions about New Zealand's acceptance of the nuclear umbrella, which had become an integral part of New Zealand's security in the period following the Second World War. Relationships with allies like the United States, Australia and Britain were strained as a result of New Zealand's increasingly anti-nuclear stand. This is a critical aspect of the popular topic, New Zealand's search for security 1945–1985.

This feature provides students with a context for:

Achievement standard 1.5: Describe the causes and course of the decisions to become nuclear-free and the consequences of this.
Achievement standard 1.6: The nuclear-free debate had a significant impact on the shaping of the identity of New Zealanders.
Achievement standard 1.3: There are numerous excellent historical sources relating to this event that can be used as practice for final assessment.

For more detail of specific activities relating to this topic go to Nuclear-free New Zealand activities – NCEA Level 1 history.

NZHistory, New Zealand history online - nuclear free

Protest and dissent - New Zealand and the Cold War

Questioning the Cold War

MAD

‘Dètente’

Peace movement

Protest against French nuclear testing

New directions - Royal NZ Navy

Organisational changes

Anti-nuclear protest

Anzac frigates

Peacekeeping roles

Assistance to the community

The navy today

Post-war operations - Royal NZ Navy

Middle East commitment

Korean War

Malayan Emergency

Nuclear tests

Re-configuration

Confrontation and Vietnam

'French letter' by Herbs

'French letter'

Nuclear-free stamp

David Lange

Norman Kirk

USS Buchanan refused entry to NZ

Classroom ideas - nuclear-free New Zealand

Nuclear-free New Zealand

Social studies

NCEA Level 1 history

More classroom topics