A core WAA group was established and the following
decisions were
1 To
take a bus load of people to
We have permission to use a large
polystyrene whale which has been used locally in protests and needs some paint
and repair, if anyone would like to help with this project please let me know
asap...thanks
One of the ideas discussed was to 'bungee
jump' the whale from the sky tower which is next to the Consulate office and I
will be checking this out. As I have
family connections to the person who owns the operation i think we can do
this. It is also possible that we could
hang a banner from the top of the tower.
The local kupa (?) please excuse if spelt
incorrectly Hakka group of young people are to be asked if they will perform
for us. There is a possibility of their
fund raising at a market venue to raise bus fares and if they come will
probably go up to
Corn suggested we try to get an outdoor
concert happening in
We need musicians, guitars, drums etc to
get things rocking and draw attention.
A logo was decided on, this is an anchor
with a whale tail at the top and a chain floating up to one side and will be
painted on faces of the Hakka guys and other protesters in blue with a white
outline.
The anchor is significant because the
anchor from the first ship to come to NZ is in the Kaitaia Museum and it also
symbolises anchoring the whale energy into our protest I was amazed to find
Paul Watson's first book 'My Fight For The Whales and Seals' also in the museum
:)
The logo will also be printed on WAA tees
and caps.
Anah is looking for hemp tees so if you
know of a source can you please contact her
We need mega phones!! (loud speakers)
Anah is making a large WAA banner...can you
help with this?
I think I can get bamboo for placards,
please email me your ideas for slogans
Two years ago when i was demonstrating
outside the Japanese Embassy in
Other placards you could make :)
Hands Off Our Humpbacks ...Japan
Aotearoa Whales Are Not For Sale
Don't Kill the Last One Per Cent of Our
Planet's Whales Stop The Whale Wars Stop Terrorising Whales Stop The War On
Whales Wake Up Japan, The World is Watching You Put Your Money Where Your Mouth
Is Helen...Send a Gun Boat To Antarctica Helen You Said NZ Protected
Whales...Now Do It
Anah will have some of these signs
translated into Japanese and also a letter of protest to the Japanese Prime
Minister to be delivered to the Consulate..please email me what You would like
to say in this letter, this should be a joint effort
Jan is to begin work on a website and
hopefully we will have that up and running by then so we can add the website
address to placards and to the banner
Postering NZ is being looked into and a
design finalised and costing done by Paul at Signs For Life who has kindly
agreed to help
Anyone who would like to run stalls at
local markets, please contact Shelly 09
406 1198
A dolphin/snorkeling trip has been donated
by Brian of Dolphin Rendezvous and I am going to ask The Beach Comber if it
will throw in a dinner for two as well...I know you will all help sell tickets
and I will ask 'It's Healthy' if we can sell them there.
Anah and I will do media releases, if you
have experience in this field, you are welcomed as i am without my laptop and
struggling to keep up with things without it...my laptop decided it wasn't
making the trip over here and crashed the night I was packing to leave :(
Corn is talking to his accountant re
becoming incorporated so that when all the millionaires line up to donate they
will get a tax refund
I am going to ask Bunna and one of the
activists i work with in Oz, Howie Cooke who is a veteran international whale activist, artist and co-founder of (www.) Surfers For Cetaceans if they can make it over here for
the 19th. Bunna and Howie would be great
to have with us.
I will also ask Dave Rasta of
surfersforcetaceans who is at present touring Japan with his band and taking
surfers from all over the planet and some Hollywood celebs to Taji this coming
week to protest the dolphin massacre that is happening there.
Dave and Howie are both Kiwis although they
have lived in Byron for many years. Dave
is the world no one free surfer, he is only in his early twenties but totally
committed to working for the planet. He
is the Billabong star and is actually splashed across the walls on huge posters
in NZ stores.
So we have one month to get this show on
the road, I hope you are all as inspired as I am, most of this inspiration is
coming from your feedback, ideas and support.
Next week I am travelling to the
Will also show The Gathering in
The Whangarei paper published an article on
Thursday and i guess you all saw the photo and article in the local paper this
week. The Whangarei paper is very
enthusiastic and wants to be updated with what we are doing. If anyone has connections in this city maybe
you could start the ball rolling there?
Oh.. also we are going to.. with a lot of
help from Shelly, organise a children's ocean art competition here in Kaitaia
with the prize a trip to the Auckland Zoo and another competition for Auckland
school children who will be invited to take part in the protest turning their
artwork into placards. If you want to
help please call Shelly. Maybe we could
organise a trip to the Far North as a prize for
The art work could be photographed and made
into collages for WAA postcards, another source of revenue
think that's all
for now
Ashiya