In October 2014, a group of thirty Pacific Islanders—‘the Pacific Climate Warriors’—arrived in Australia to dramatise the dangers of climate change. Organised by 350 Pacific, they came to blockade Newcastle’s coal port with traditional canoes to highlight the links between Australia’s coal industry, climate change, and their homes.
Milañ Loeak, daughter of the president of the Marshall Islands, explained: ‘We’re blockading the world’s largest coal port in Newcastle to show that elsewhere in the world, whole nations are paying the price for Australia’s coal and gas wealth.’
On the day of the blockade, local newspaper, the Newcastle Herald reported:
Thirty climate warriors from across the Pacific came to Newcastle… with a simple message for King Coal—the coal industry’s relentless quest for profit is destroying their island homes… By mid-morning, Newcastle Harbour had become the backdrop for one of the country’s largest anti-coal protests in recent years.
The day began with ceremonies. There was an Aboriginal welcome. A Catholic priest from New Zealand, Father Joe Savesi, blessed the group. Then, to the sound of chants and singing, the Warriors launched their canoes.
Within half an hour of the canoes being launched, the Rhine, a 226-metre bulk carrier, approached.
The Warriors, together with about a hundred supporters in kayaks, then moved in to block it. Police arrived on jet skis and in boats, towing protesters away. The Warriors chanted their slogan: ‘We are not drowning. We are fighting!’
Vivid images
The event generated vivid images that dramatised climate change, its impacts, and the stakes for people in the Pacific.
The Guardian rated the event as ‘the David versus Goliath campaign of the year‘ and as one of the ‘top 10 sustainability campaigns of 2014.’
The powerful images the event generated had a lot to do with its capacity to reach people.
Does it get clearer than this? People with homes on the line in tiny canoes vs. giant, rusting coal ship of the past: pic.twitter.com/fHnjE23OMw
— 350 dot org (@350) October 17, 2014
Image: Mike Bowers/ Eyevine/ Australscope
Bill Ryan, a veteran of the 1942 Kokoda campaign of World War 2, participated. Several protesters were detained; however, no arrests took place.
At the end of the day, the Pacific Climate Warriors issued a statement:
The coal which leaves this port has a direct impact on our culture and our islands. It is clear to us that this is the kind of action which we must take in order to survive. Climate change is an issue which affects everyone and coal companies may expect further actions like this in future.
Pacific Warriors standing up against Big Coal last Friday was an EPIC tale of David vs. Goliath. pic.twitter.com/4ny2pYPVL6
— 350 dot org (@350) October 21, 2014
Image: Mike Bowers/ Eyevine/ Australscope