Welcome for Greenpeace ship at Wellington

Press, 13 February 1986, Page 9

Welcome for Greenpeace ship at Wellington

PA Wellington The Antarctic protest ship Greenpeace sailed into Wellington Harbour yesterday afternoon to a wharfside welcome from about 200 people. Expedition members who lined the rails of the ship were greeted by applause from supporters at the overseas terminal.

The ship berthed at 2.40 p.m., about three hours later than expected.

For most of the 34 people aboard the Greenpeace it was their first landfall since leaving Melbourne nearly eight weeks ago. The member of Parliament for Eden, Mr Richard Northey, made a brief speech of welcome, introducing himself as “a

member of Parliament and a member of Greenpeace,” before presenting the crew with baskets of fresh fruit and flowers given by supporters. “The people of New Zealand are really proud of you, and what you are doing to safeguard the resources of Antarctica,” he said.

In reply, an Antarctic campaign co-ordinator, Peter Wilkinson, said the expedition had been a tough two months. Although failing in their main aim of establishing a wintering station on the Antarctic mainland, expedition members were undeterred, he said. Mr Wilkinson said Greenpeace was commit-

ted to setting up the base on the Ice as a prelude to gaining observer status among the Antarctic Treaty countries. The organisation needed to run a recognised scientific programme on the continent for at least two years to achieve that goal. “We did it symbolically this year. Now we have to do it practically next year,” he said. While the Greenpeace had not been able to reach the mainland because of unusually heavy ice floes, it had been possible to use the small shipboard helicopter to survey the Antarctic coastline for a suitable site for a proposed base camp, Mr Wilkinson said.