Protest march against visit of USS Texas

The issue of nuclear ship visits became significant for New Zealanders in the 1980s. Widespread protests greeted the arrival of the nuclear-powered frigate USS Texas in Auckland in August 1983. These protesters on Mercer Street, Wellington, wore grotesque masks and carried a papier-mâché Statue of Liberty wielding a nuclear missile. The Muldoon-led National government saw these visits as expressing New Zealand’s support for ANZUS and the country’s relationship with the United States.