Story: Cold War

A non-nuclear future

A non-nuclear future

During the 1970s anti-nuclearism became a mass movement. Among the groups promoting the cause was the Campaign for Non-Nuclear Futures. In 1976 they produced this poster, using an image of the inter-island ferry Wahine, which had sunk in Wellington Harbour eight years before with the loss of 51 lives. The poster suggests that if the ship had been nuclear-powered, the resulting radiation could have killed thousands. Such a risk underlined the rationale for anti-nuclear activism. 

Courtesy of Campaign for Non-Nuclear Futures

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-D-NUCLEAR-1976-02

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Gerald Hensley, 'Cold War - Questioning the Cold War, 1955 to 1985', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/32710/a-non-nuclear-future (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Gerald Hensley, published 20 Jun 2012