53 years later, Mururoa veterans finally reach Rarotonga

By Stacey Hill, Executive Member of the Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group and daughter of a Mururoa veteran.

Twenty veterans of the 1973 Operation Pilaster, with partners and family, touched down in Rarotonga on 1 September taking up an invitation that had been open for 53 years.

In 1973, the New Zealand Government sent HMNZS Otago and later HMNZS Canterbury to the Mururoa Atoll to protest French atmospheric nuclear testing. Prime Minister Norman Kirk described the mission's purpose as "silent accusing witnesses."

On the way home, Canterbury was invited to call in at Rarotonga but decided to continue on home. This year, the Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group (MNVG) took up the invitation.

The MNVG attended an official ceremony which was attended by the King's Representative Sir Tom Marsters and Lady Tuaine Marsters, who received a commemorative plaque from the veterans.

Most of those were teenagers when they sailed for Mururoa. Kevin Corles had just turned 19 and as he said at the ceremony, history would suggest the protest had an impact. France abandoned atmospheric testing the following year and stopped nuclear testing in the Pacific altogether in 1995.

The MNVG co-president Anthony Kennedy also said that the group had come to say thank you for the support the Cook Islands gave the New Zealand ships back in 1973 and for the welcome they were receiving now.

Thanks to Veterans' Affairs, who supported the visit.

Why this matters to me

I went to Rarotonga as the daughter of one of the 1973 veterans. The MNVG meet each year for our AGM and reunion, and I'd love to see more of the next generation there with us next year to keep the memory of what our fathers and grandfathers did at Mururoa alive, and to keep working towards recognition of health issues passed down to their children and grandchildren as a result of that service.

Find us on Facebook at Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group Inc or email us at secretary@mururoaveterans73.nz.