Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 6:12 pm
Press Release: Waitangi Treaty Grounds
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are pleased to announce our latest exhibition, Operation Grapple – We Were There, open from 18 April – 6 July 2025. Photographer Denise Baynham was moved to create an exhibition highlighting the stories of 19 Operation Grapple veterans. This insightful exhibition combines portrait photographs of the veterans in the own homes accompanied by their stories told in their own words.
Operation Grapple was a series of thermonuclear/hydrogen weapons tests conceived and conducted by the British government in the South Pacific Ocean, at Malden Island and Kiritimati. Operation Grapple began in May of 1957 and concluded in September 1958, with nine tests being held in total.
The Royal New Zealand Navy provided a survey ship, the HMNZS Lachlan to carry out a survey of both Islands, as well as frigates, the HMNZS Pukaki and Rotoiti for the detonations. Pukaki was present in all 9 tests, while Rotoiti was present during the first four.
Over the course of these tests a total of 551 New Zealand naval personnel manned these ships. Their duties consisted of witnessing the detonation of the nuclear devices and collecting weather data as close as 37 kilometres to ground zero. The largest of the detonations, Grapple Y was hundreds of times larger than the Hiroshima bomb dropped on Japan.
Curator Owen Taituha says “This exhibition presents an exciting opportunity to hero the previously unsung stories of some of our country’s brave veterans. Operation Grapple provides a unique insight into the personal experiences and lived history of these men. It is an honour to be able to display this exhibition as part of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds Anzac commemorations.”
These portraits honour and recognise these veterans. This is their story.
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