Tuesday Documentary The Rainbow Warrior Affair
The Rainbow Warrior, a converted North Sea fishing trawler and flagship of the Greenpeace organisation, arrived in Auckland on 7 July, 1985 to prepare for a voyage of protest to the French nuclear test site at Moruroa Atoll. Three days later she lay on the bottom of Auckland Harbour, crippled by two explosions that ripped through her hull, and one of her crew was dead. This documentary traces the events of this major international incident and highlights new and as yet un-revealed facts, with footage taken inside the court at the first trial of the two French agents arrested for their part in the bombing. The programme also backgrounds the French interest in the Pacific and looks at the many conflicting reasons given as to why France saw it as being in her best interest to sink the ship.
A collection of New Zealand made documentaries about the people and the events that shape the nation.
Primary Title
- Tuesday Documentary
Secondary Title
- The Rainbow Warrior Affair
Date Broadcast
- Tuesday 1 April 1986
Start Time
- 20 : 30
Finish Time
- 21 : 30
Duration
- 60:00
Channel
- TV2
Broadcaster
- Television New Zealand
Owning Organisation
- Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand
Programme Description
- A collection of New Zealand made documentaries about the people and the events that shape the nation.
Episode Description
- The Rainbow Warrior, a converted North Sea fishing trawler and flagship of the Greenpeace organisation, arrived in Auckland on 7 July, 1985 to prepare for a voyage of protest to the French nuclear test site at Moruroa Atoll. Three days later she lay on the bottom of Auckland Harbour, crippled by two explosions that ripped through her hull, and one of her crew was dead. This documentary traces the events of this major international incident and highlights new and as yet un-revealed facts, with footage taken inside the court at the first trial of the two French agents arrested for their part in the bombing. The programme also backgrounds the French interest in the Pacific and looks at the many conflicting reasons given as to why France saw it as being in her best interest to sink the ship.
Classification
- Not Classified
Owning Collection
- Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Notes
- The programme starts with an explanation that a High Court Injunction has prevented the showing of footage of the court appearances of the French security agents, Alain Marfat and Dominique Prieur, when they pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter and willful damage. This footage has been removed from the programme at this time until a court ruling has been made.
Genres
- Documentary
Hosts
- David Burke-Kennedy (Presenter)
- Dougal Stevenson (Narrator)
Contributors
- Terry Carter (Reporter, Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand [NZBC])
- Malcolm Hall (Executive Producer)
- D.O.C Williams (Producer)
- Bill Saunders (Producer)
- TVNZ (Production Unit)