Author(s): David Robie

History

On 10 July 1985, French secret agents bombed the Greenpeace campaign flagship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. Portuguese-born photographer Fernando Pereira died in the sabotage outrage that shook the world. The bombed ship was scuttled off a New Zealand bay in 1987 to form a living reef and Rainbow Warrior II was commissioned.

Eyes Of Fire tells this story, but it also tells the story of nuclear testing in the Pacific. In 1954 the United States government tested a nuclear weapon in the Marshall Islands that posioned Rongelap Atoll. Thirty years later the people of Rongelap, who were still suffering from radiation poisoning, asked the crew of the Rainbow Warriror to move them to Mejato, 180 kilometres away. This was the Warrior's last and most dramatic mission, before it sailed to Auckland to meet its fate. 

The 30th anniversary edition has a Little Island microsite with plenty of Rainbow Warrior resources. We have created this site in the lead-up to the 30th anniversary of the bombing to provide context and capture interviews with the Warrior's crew members. We think that it's a fantastic resource, made with the help of AUT University and Greenpeace.