Kaumatua Dover Samuels and presenter Scotty Morrison. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Kaumatua Dover Samuels and presenter Scotty Morrison. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The first international terrorist attack in New Zealand is one of the subjects of a TV series partly filmed at Northland's Matauri Bay.
The bombing of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior by French agents in 1985 sent shockwaves around the world.
Visiting the site of the wreck still makes kaumātua and former Labour MP Dover Samuels emotional almost 40 years on.
Samuels was instrumental in getting the damaged ship scuttled at the Cavalli Islands as a memorial, dive attraction and artificial reef.
The wreck will feature in a new series of National Treasures, in which presenters Scotty and Stacey Morrison use objects to tell the story of New Zealand.
Most of those objects are brought in by ordinary Kiwis and examined by experts - a bit like on the Antiques Roadshow - but when they can't be moved, like the Rainbow Warrior, Scotty Morrison hits the road and visits them himself.
On Wednesday he spent a day with Samuels as the Ngāti Kura kaumātua recalled the attack and the quest to bring the vessel north.
Morrison then dived down to the wreck, with Paihia Dive's Craig Johnston as his guide, to see first-hand the holes torn in its hull by a pair of limpet mines.
Samuels recalled the memorial service at Matauri Bay when then-Governor-General Sir Paul Reeves described the bombing as "a day of international shame".
"I remember the significance of those words. It really was a terrorist act upon New Zealand sovereignty and the New Zealand people. Over the years that emotion has not faded from my memory."
He also recalled the outrage when it was revealed the orders to carry out the attack, despite initial denials, came from the French government.
The ship had been about to lead a flotilla to protest French nuclear testing at Moruroa Atoll (also known as Aopuni, an atoll in French Polynesia).
"Perhaps it's timely that we should look back at the journey of the Rainbow Warrior and see how far we've gone in terms of bringing awareness of our environment," Samuels said.
The veteran diver said he was "a little sad" he was unable to join Morrison and Johnston at the wreck. At 83 years old, the risks of descending to 22 metres were too great.
He was also sad for the victim of the attack, Fernando Pereira, and his children.
National Treasures presenter Scotty Morrison near the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior. Photo / Dave Abbott, Liquid Action Films
Morrison said seeing the wreck was also emotional for him because of its symbolism to tiaki taiao (looking after the environment).
"I think it's an intrinsic part of our DNA as Māori, and all New Zealanders, that we're pretty environmentally conscious. The Rainbow Warrior is symbolic of that and the fight against nuclear testing," he said.
"It united us as a country in condemnation of what happened. On a national scale, the event was catastrophic."
While swimming around the wreck he was struck by how frightening it must have been when the bombs went off, and felt sorry for Pereira, the Greenpeace photographer who was killed.
Morrison said the TV series was "a window into our history".
It had its genesis in the Covid lockdowns because people had time to clean out their garages and attics, and rediscovered family heirlooms that were significant to New Zealand's history.
National Treasures, which is made by Pango Productions, will screen next year on TV1.
The objects showcased in the first series are on display at Te Papa in Wellington.
Morrison (Ngāti Whakaaue) is no stranger to the water but the Rainbow Warrior was his first wreck dive.
