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Story: Cold War

Nuclear warship protests: Nelson

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Nuclear warship protests: Nelson

The anxiety that nuclear-warship visits could make ports a target for attack by perceived Cold War enemies is highlighted in this placard at an anti-nuclear protest in Nelson in November 1983. A related fear was that nuclear-propelled ships could have an accident while in port and leak deadly radiation.

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Nelson Provincial Museum, Nelson Daily Mail Collection

Reference: NM 5746

Permission must be sought from Nelson Provincial Museum before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Gerald Hensley, Cold War – The last decade: the 1980s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/32714/nuclear-warship-protests-nelson (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Gerald Hensley, published 16 April 2012.