In 1957/58 the British Government conducted a series of nuclear weapons tests at Christmas Island and Malden Island in the mid-Pacific Ocean. This series of detonations was given the codename “Operation Grapple”.

Operation Grapple consisted of 9 nuclear detonations between May 1957 and September 1958. The biggest of the detonations, Grapple Y, was equal to 140 Hiroshima bombs.

Two New Zealand frigates attended the series of detonations: HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti. 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.

In Operation Grapple: We Were There, Denise Baynham presents portraits of 19 New Zealand nuclear test veterans. Photographed in their own homes so you can see where and who they are now, the accompanying stories about Operation Grapple are told in the veterans’ own words.

Image: Portrait of Tere Tahi, photographed by Denise Baynham.