Story: Pacific Islands and New Zealand

Farewelling joint forces, 2003

Farewelling joint forces, 2003

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark farewells troops and police leaving for the Solomon Islands from Townsville, Australia, in July 2003. The joint force included personnel from Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Australia and New Zealand. Clark described the force as 'a Pacific solution ... it is important that our involvement is handled in a Pacific way. We must be sympathetic to the interests and needs of the Solomon Islands people. Our approach must be low key and helpful, and enable the Solomon Islands to build the capability to progress their own development' (speech, 24 July 2003, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0307/S00434.htm).

Using this item

Getty Images
Photograph by Dean Purcell

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Jon Fraenkel, 'Pacific Islands and New Zealand - Solomon Islands', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36881/farewelling-joint-forces-2003 (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Jon Fraenkel, published 20 Jun 2012