Eyes of Fire: Thirty Years On

Pacific Media Centre

Video still from PMC's Alistar Kata interview with Bunny McDiarmid

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AUT University's Pacific Media Centre – Te Amokura – produces independent media and research into contemporary Māori, Pasifika and ethnic diversity media and culture production.

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Founded in 2007, the centre also collaborates with other Asia-Pacific media outlets engaged in research and cultural production and develops cultural and research publications, building on the success of the peer-reviewed publication Pacific Journalism Review, media freedom project Pacific Media Watch and current affairs website Pacific Scoop.

Its YouTube channel is here.

More about the PMC.

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Key people

David Robie

Director professor David Robie was a journalist on board the Rainbow Warrior on the last voyage in 1985 and is the author of Eyes of Fire. He was awarded the 1985 NZ media Peace Prize for his reportage of the Rongelap evacuation and bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.

“Thanks to Little Island Press, this is an incredible opportunity for students to work on stories about such an iconic moment of our history. We came of age as an independent nation with both this outrage to our sovereignty and our nuclear-free law.”

Alistar Kata

Alistar Kata (Cook Island Māori, Ngapuhi) is the PMC’s Pacific Media Watch freedom project contributing editor and is an award-winning final year journalism BCS (Hons) student at AUT. She covered the 2014 Fiji elections for Pacific Scoop and Wansolwara in a student project.

“Younger people can take so much away from this event. Yes, the bombing was extremely tragic and to lose a life even more so. But we can’t forget to pass on these messages and keep this spirit of defiance and resistance alive.”

John Miller

John Miller (Ngaitewake-ki-te-tuawhenua, Uritaniwha, Ngati Rehia hapu of Ngapuhi) is one of New Zealand’s leading political dissent and social documentary photographers and a research associate of the PMC. He contributed all the cover photographs for the various editions of Eyes of Fire.

View John Miller interview

Gil Hanly

Gil Hanly has documented major social movements and public events in New Zealand, such as the nuclear-free movement, since the early 1970s. She has been a contributor to Eyes of Fire since the bombing. Gil's images have been used widely by Greenpeace.

View Gil Hanly interview

Del Abcede

Del Abcede is a volunteer event organiser, Pacific Journalism Review designer and photographer for the PMC and is a human rights activist in several groups, including the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Coalition.

Amelie David

Amelie David is an independent French journalist living in New Zealand. A graduate from journalism school at the ESJ Lille, in the north of France, the 24 year-old decided to quit her job and travel to New Zealand, a country she had been “dreaming about for a long time to visit”.

Amelie discusses the project

Shailendra Singh

Shailendra Singh is senior lecturer and coordinator of journalism at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. He recently completed his doctorate at the University of Queensland. Previously he lectured in print and online journalism and media law and ethics.

Shailendra Singh interviews David Robie

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Interviews

Bunny McDiarmid

Bunny McDiarmid talks to Alistar Kata about the Rongelap expedition, how it felt to be on board the Rainbow Warrior and what activism means to her now.

The project

AUT Journalism and Television Screen Production students have been working alongside Greenpeace and Little Island to rediscover this important part of Pacific history.

The students

Thirteen teams of dedicated and enthusiastic journalism and television students from Auckland's AUT University worked on the Eyes of Fire project.

Protest now

Alistar Kata looks into the protest movement in New Zealand and the Pacific since the 1980s.

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Website: www.pmc.aut.ac.nz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PacificMediaCentre

Email: pmc@aut.ac.nz