Sir, may we please have some more?
I'm in line with Erin...how about another serving?
There Is No Depression: Protect and Survive New Zealand
- Thread starter Tsar of New Zealand
- Start date
I'm in line with Erin...how about another serving?
Why couldn't I have found this forum years ago instead of a couple of months ago! This is great
This has been a very good read so far, Tsar! I believe my family had moved from Whangarei to Canterbury by this point so no front-row fireworks for my five year old self.
Could the third warhead have been aimed at the Maui drilling platform? I believe that started production in 1979 or 1980. Given a lack of wartime imports, Marsden point would run out of reserves very quickly and as such this would severly hinder New Zealand's economy and fighting ability.
This has been a very good read so far, Tsar! I believe my family had moved from Whangarei to Canterbury by this point so no front-row fireworks for my five year old self.
Could the third warhead have been aimed at the Maui drilling platform? I believe that started production in 1979 or 1980. Given a lack of wartime imports, Marsden point would run out of reserves very quickly and as such this would severly hinder New Zealand's economy and fighting ability.
Sir, may we please have some more?
Ask and you shall receive - expect an update in the next few hours. Not as exciting as previous ones, but it'll hopefully slake your thirst until I come out with the next...interesting developments.
VII. We Sleep In A Well-Made Bed
VII. We Sleep In A Well-Made Bed
If you’d’a known I’d’a led you astray
I was prone, I was weak, I’d’a been hell to live with.
Now I’m a nomad
I’m taking you with me
I’ll take you away…
By the late afternoon of February 22nd, the number of internal refugees had reached its peak as the remaining few who could flee fled, and those on the road stopped after what had in most cases been a long day of driving in order to stop and get their bearings. It has been estimated that several tens of thousands fled in the last few hours before and during the Exchange, with at least half a million people on the move throughout the country when the bomb fell. The strain on the road network had become particularly apparent in the North Island, with the highways out of Auckland and Wellington still gridlocked upon the destruction of those two centres – this led many to abandon their cars and struggle on by foot, adding to the confusion. Prior to and after the attacks, road accidents were either ignored or unceremoniously dealt with by impatient (and often half-hysterical) motorists, with reports of trucks towing wrecked vehicles out of the way, sometimes with the drivers still trapped inside. Like a spring tide coming up an estuary, the flow of humanity swept past anything before it, leaving in its wake those too weak or unlucky to flee.
In the South Island, communications were rapidly established through the afternoon between civilian administrations in Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, and Nelson, with a broad agreement made to establish some sort of interim government if the situation across Cook Strait turned out to be worse than feared.
As it happened, a phone call made to Burnham resulted in a message reaching Mayor Hay in Kaiapoi at around 6 pm, detailing the situation as was known. The Government had been largely withdrawn to military bases in the central North Island and, pending the arrival of the Prime Minister, Ohakea was to act as interim capital until further notice. Although this required most of those informed to consult a map, the measure was accepted with relief more than anything else – the Prime Minister was alive, as were most of the government, and the military was intact enough to help run some sort of administration. This feeling may have been helped by the tacit agreement that the South Island would be left to run itself for at least the next few days, with the Mayor’s Office returning to the deserted centre of Christchurch a little before sundown to provide a solid base of operations.
A radio broadcast from Christchurch was before long broadcast across the South Island informing the public of the loss of contact with Wellington, but detailing the communication made with Australia and urging people to return to Christchurch in view of the city’s relative safety. Although this bulletin was somewhat effective, the condition of the highways in Canterbury remained chaotic and actually got worse, as many decided to return to Christchurch and either encountered those still coming the other way or, worse yet, ran out of fuel. By the end of the day, at least thirty thousand are estimated to have remained on the roads outside Christchurch, with many in the city staying at home for fear of looting or violence. Nevertheless, in comparison to the situation unfolding in Auckland, Wellington, and by then Blenheim, this was paradise.
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RNZAF Base Ohakea
Near Bulls, Manawatu
About 3:30 pm
Upon the arrival of the Prime Minister and his little entourage at Ohakea Air Base, the group was rushed from the helicopter to a small admin block near a terminal, an RNZAF Orion taking off behind them as they scurried across the tarmac.
Shepherded into a meeting room in the bowels of the building, Muldoon, MacIntyre, McLay, and Gair were directed to a long set of tables, the dozen men there standing at the Prime Minister’s entry. Muldoon blinked in surprise and then nodded at them, straightening up to try and compensate for his rumpled suit, fuzzy chin, and bloodshot eyes. From the mixed looks of surprise and relief he got by way of response, it was only marginally effective.
And who was there? Muldoon wearily took in the remains of the Government he’d worked both with and against and quickly made a mental list:
• Michael Cox from the Manawatu – reliable if dull, shaky majority in ’81, does as told.
• John Falloon of Pahiatua – held Statistics, IRD, Associate Finance portfolios. Clever, popular, loyal, in good with Federated Farmers, which might come in useful. Muldoon could rely on him.
• Ben Couch, Minister of Police – so he’d made it out of Wellington this morning as well. Solid fellow for a Maori, certainly executed policy terribly well during the ’81 tour. Muldoon had leaned on the police during the last few days to keep order, and he’d be doing it for some time to come – thank God Ben was alive, then.
• Roger McClay – the one new National MP in ’81; hadn’t he been sent back to Taupo a few days ago? However he’d gotten here, he was here.
• Aussie Malcolm – Well, he’d made it out of Wellington too, then. Minister of Health, which was going to become a very undesirable position very soon.
• Venn Young – if it hadn’t been for his wife and nine children, Muldoon would’ve had him pegged as a poofie considering his attempts to legalise that sort of thing; his shift to Social Welfare had been a way of edging him out of centre stage.
• Trevor de Cleene – deregulation nut from Labour, one of that madman Douglas’ crowd. Well, beggars couldn’t be choosers…
• Derek Quigley – if anything worse than de Cleene: at least de Cleene had the courtesy to be in Opposition! Muldoon had been planning to do something about the enemy within before things had gone to hell; looked like that would have to wait.
• Russell Marshall – Labour’s Wanganui man, and former Senior Whip. Dangerous, though he might be willing to work with the government now to keep Labour in check.
• John Terris – Labour, Western Hutt. Popular in his electorate, so he might be able to help keep order in the Hutt.
• Fran Wilde – Jesus, there was one who would’ve been better staying in Wellington Central. Not as economically liberal as de Cleene, but what kind of mad social liberties she’d want to take Muldoon could only guess at. From the barely-concealed contempt in her eyes, the distaste was mutual.
• And finally – wait, him?
It was probably the tiredness, but Muldoon couldn’t help but blink again and say his first words since entering the room:
“You? I thought you were dead!”
From across the table, a pallid Bruce Beetham gave a thin smile, looking at Muldoon from sunken eyes.
“I love you too, Rob,” said the Social Credit leader. “And here I thought I was lucky to live through my heart attacks; some bloody convalescence I got.”
Muldoon ignored the quiet condemnation in the retort, grunting in reply and looking around the table again. “Well, here we all are. Any word on who else is coming?”
An SIS man who’d made his way in with the gang of four cleared his throat and nodded once the PM looked at him.
“We’ve had confirmation that Mr Bolger is in New Plymouth with Mister Friedlander,” here Beetham coughed in his throat, which was either illness or a stifled jibe “and they’re co-ordinating things up there. Mr Palmer, Mr Talbot, and Mr Moore are all safe and have made their way to help the Mayor’s office there, and we’ve confirmed the survival of all the main governmental figures from Ashburton south.”
Muldoon nodded, drawing himself up and trying to reassert his authority. He had some facts now, and knowledge was most certainly power in this kind of chaos. Then Jim McLay decided to ask a question of his own.
“What about Auckland?”
The room went silent. Muldoon’s seat was in Tamaki, just east of the CBD. Depending on where the bomb had been dropped…
…the SIS man probably knew as much, swallowing and taking a deep breath before responding.
“We, ah…well, Minister…ah, we’ve not had any contact with Devonport, so for the time being we’re assuming the MP for Takapuna will be absent, and there have as yet been very few reports from the area. But we’re assuming that that is due to organisational difficulties, Minister,” he added quickly, choosing the diplomatic route and looking at Muldoon with hope in his eyes.
It was a forlorn hope. Muldoon opened his mouth to speak and thought better of it, the rest of the room falling silent as McLay mumbled some sort of agreement, and Beetham looked down at the floor, presumably in fear for his SoCred partner’s wellbeing. After a moment or two, the Prime Minister spoke more quietly.
“Get us the latest reports on the situation as we know it. I want to make a speech, let people out there know there’s still a country. Do we have broadcasting capabilities here?”
“I’ll…have to check, Prime Minister, but I can certainly go and get those reports. The other Ministers have been informed what we know already, but we’ll see if there’s any new information.”
“Good,” said Muldoon shortly. “Go.”
As the man scuttled out of the room, Muldoon sat at the head of the table and looked out at the rest of the MPs.
“Well,” he said, “let’s get to work, then.”
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Towards nightfall, a news bulletin went out across the country, relayed in many places by local broadcasters (naturally, considering the destruction of Radio New Zealand House with the rest of the government quarter of Wellington) to smaller settlements as well as the evacuees who had begun wondering what to do now – having escaped death by the bomb, death by starvation or murder or accident loomed in the minds of the more pessimistic. Thus, the Prime Minister’s speech came as some sort of comfort, even amongst those who had come to hate him bitterly within the last nine years, or nine days. The speech was as follows.
“Good evening, New Zealand. This is your Prime Minister speaking.
“Today, our country was hit by the horrors of war on its homesoil for the first time in our history, as the Soviet Union, in its brutality, sought to destroy us by means of two atomic missiles which I can now confirm to have detonated in Wellington and [here his voice seemed to catch] central Auckland. No other attacks upon us have been confirmed at this time, and we do not anticipate any more.
“I must therefore ask now that we as a country come together to rebuild what we have lost. We must mourn those we have lost today, and those we may yet lose in days to come, but we must not lose sight of hope. I speak to you now from the central North Island alongside several other Members of Parliament from both sides of the chamber, and I assure you we are working tirelessly to manage the crisis which New Zealand has been forced into. As many of you will be aware, local authorities are picking up the slack while we re-establish communications with the main centres and the affected areas, in many places alongside their constituency representatives. We commend their efforts in organisation and I now offer the full support of the Government to these efforts.
“Throughout the last few days, radio and television broadcasts have been informing you on how to protect yourselves and survive the dangers which are present at this time. At the moment these guidelines should be followed wherever you think they might be needed, especially in Auckland and Wellington. Although the first instinct of some will be to panic and flee, adding to the possibility of chaos on the streets, I ask of you to remain calm and remain at home. Emergency services are trying to reach all they can, and if you stay in one spot their job will be made easier. Of course, I know that New Zealanders have always remained calm in a crisis. We have stood together as a country despite all the last few years have thrown at us, and God willing we will stand together and work to rebuild.
“I now hand over the airwaves to your local broadcasters. If you are listening to a battery-powered radio and wish to conserve power, official bulletins will be broadcast every hour on the hour from ten o’clock this evening. Follow the survival guidelines, take care of yourself and your loved ones, and we will all pull through.
"God keep you all through this long night, and God defend New Zealand."
Although a fairly run-of-the-mill announcement from a continuity government in the first 24 hours following the Exchange (albeit one which was actually heard by a majority of its intended audience, as opposed to, say, the UK or much of Australia), certain parts of Muldoon’s speech were somewhat prophetic. Although there had been no real confirmation of the end of hostilities, Muldoon prevailed upon the Emergency Cabinet the importance of providing reassurance to a panicked population. Likewise, the claim that emergency services were rushing to assist people in the burning shells of central Wellington and Auckland was a creative manipulation of the truth – following nuclear preparedness guidelines transmitted from London and Washington offices, these appliances were largely held back, only being used to help maintain order and preparedness in areas a suitable distance from the blast radii like Mangere or Upper Hutt.
Muldoon’s maskirovka fulfilled its purpose though, and the country outside the two main centres began to return home to gear up for the task ahead. Unfortunately, as the Prime Minister was informed soon after the recording was disseminated throughout the country, the South Island was about to catch some of the consequences of the attacks on their brothers across the Strait, in an event which would threaten the Muldoon Government scarcely a day after it had escaped ruin.
Better the devil you know
The best of the worst you can handle
And will you follow?
Will you follow?
Will you follow?
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Hmm, what kind of consequences would hit the South Island? Fallout showers? Refugees arriving in too large numbers? Breakdown in order?
Blenheim does seem the obvious target for both I guess.
Blenheim does seem the obvious target for both I guess.
Oh dear, thought we had slain this mythical beast. In any case a car is in effect a Farraday Cage, so any electronics should be fine. Running out of fuel is more likely to be an issue.
The inner monologue from Muldoon is very well done. Party politics don't stop just becaue the appocalypse has happened.
Oh dear, thought we had slain this mythical beast. In any case a car is in effect a Farraday Cage, so any electronics should be fine. Running out of fuel is more likely to be an issue.
The inner monologue from Muldoon is very well done. Party politics don't stop just becaue the appocalypse has happened.
Damn.
I did wonder, but to be honest I flew by the seat of my pants on this update - as you can tell it was mainly the political wrangling. This is Muldoon we're talking about, after all. Anything in particular people'd like to see in the next update?
Oh dear, thought we had slain this mythical beast. In any case a car is in effect a Farraday Cage, so any electronics should be fine. Running out of fuel is more likely to be an issue.
The inner monologue from Muldoon is very well done. Party politics don't stop just becaue the appocalypse has happened.
Would you care to elaborate?
The vehicles of early 80s NZ would be rather low tech, even by contemporary standards, but I did understand that an EMP burst, of a high strength, could still have some effects on such vehicles, even if easy enough to fix.
I have to admit I am very ignorant about early '80s NZ politics.
I'll do my best.
HEMP is often confused with what has been termed 'Sci-fi EMP'. It's kinda hard to explain without getting all too technical. However put simply the same reason why a car is a safe place to be in a thunderstorm is pretty much the same reason its electronics will be relativley safe from HEMP.
Looking back at the three initiations they are all probably too low to generate much more than localised EMP effects. And in that sort of initiation the range at which EMP will cause damage to unshielded electronics is less than effects such as heat and blast.
I have to admit I am very ignorant about early '80s NZ politics.
I'll do my best.
HEMP is often confused with what has been termed 'Sci-fi EMP'. It's kinda hard to explain without getting all too technical. However put simply the same reason why a car is a safe place to be in a thunderstorm is pretty much the same reason its electronics will be relativley safe from HEMP.
Looking back at the three initiations they are all probably too low to generate much more than localised EMP effects. And in that sort of initiation the range at which EMP will cause damage to unshielded electronics is less than effects such as heat and blast.
Thanks! That was my initial thought as well, but then I recalled reading some where that a very strong EMP burst could have a wider effect on even unsophisticated motors.
I'm glad I made some sense. I was worried I had to start going into Bell Curves and all that sort of malarky. Getting information on the effects of HEMP can be quite difficult a) because it is often misunderstood (I'm looking at you Goldeneye ) and b) there are those with vested interests who want it to appear more scary (those who want to sell us expensive protection, or justify their existence - the EMP Commission for one).
Contrary to what's often said modern electronics are probably less vulnerable than one might think. After all pretty much everything these days has protection against surges, which is basically what an EM Pulse is. Since a pulse passes in less than a second modern electronics are designed to switch off for that fraction of a second and the user probably won't even notice.
Wrt cars if a pulse hits them and the pulse from a true HEMP is going to be pretty weak by the time it gets to the ground, the energy is, IIRC, going to follow the body of the car to earth. Since the electical gubbins are inside what is a metal box they should be fine. Unless they're made by Lucas, of course, but then they don't need a HEMP to fail.
For an EMP to be strong enough at ground level to do real damage any car will have melted, or been blown to bits first.
) and b) there are those with vested interests who want it to appear more scary (those who want to sell us expensive protection, or justify their existence - the EMP Commission for one).Contrary to what's often said modern electronics are probably less vulnerable than one might think. After all pretty much everything these days has protection against surges, which is basically what an EM Pulse is. Since a pulse passes in less than a second modern electronics are designed to switch off for that fraction of a second and the user probably won't even notice.
Wrt cars if a pulse hits them and the pulse from a true HEMP is going to be pretty weak by the time it gets to the ground, the energy is, IIRC, going to follow the body of the car to earth. Since the electical gubbins are inside what is a metal box they should be fine. Unless they're made by Lucas, of course, but then they don't need a HEMP to fail.
For an EMP to be strong enough at ground level to do real damage any car will have melted, or been blown to bits first.
Thanks for the input! My bad on this one, I cut a corner on a detail I wasn't too sure of (even though this is the Internet and the facts are all of three clicks away
). The words 'Faraday Cage' clicked something in my mind to the effect of electricity conduction, as with that Top Gear episode when they sent a couple million volts through a VW with one of the hosts inside (look, I was 14 and cars were cool ); the Bell Curve malarkey you mention also rang a bell from my research (patchy and some time ago though that was!). If there was one note of yours that drove the point home, it was this: ...which would make the electronics of the car, as you so rightly pointed out, inconsequential to the resaleable value
Ah, EMP... yes, a high altitude EMP can cause damage but it's not a simple dies-the-fire-in-a-can. Effectively military electronics are hardened against it. Many civilian electronics would have some resistance (the bit of the EMP that kills electronic isn't that different to the effects of a nearby lightening bolt... and we've got fairly reliable protection against those frying your gadgets). Electrical distribution networks are vulnerable, but if you're vaporizing several large cities your going to smash up the networks badly anyway.
So, outside of using disruptions to radio and Radar caused by the effects on the Earth's magnetic field to buy your ICBMs and extra few minutes before they're detected, the actual military advantages of using an EMP really aren't significant.
If you really want to get into the details I've got a few links here from an olde ASB-e thread(e)...
And of cause, since this is a thread about New Zealand, I've gotta ask if there's sufficient sheep available to "keep moral up"?
(Yep, I'm Australian)
So, outside of using disruptions to radio and Radar caused by the effects on the Earth's magnetic field to buy your ICBMs and extra few minutes before they're detected, the actual military advantages of using an EMP really aren't significant.
If you really want to get into the details I've got a few links here from an olde ASB-e thread(e)...
And of cause, since this is a thread about New Zealand, I've gotta ask if there's sufficient sheep available to "keep moral up"?
(Yep, I'm Australian)
Alright, I get it, I should change my username to Sergeant Schultz because I know nussink!
I'll be sure to use those links, though, when I write up the update on central Auckland. Brace yourselves, kids Probably update after next. Maybe. And of cause, since this is a thread about New Zealand, I've gotta ask if there's sufficient sheep available to "keep moral up"?
(Yep, I'm Australian)
I direct you to the first verse of the song There is No Depression in New Zealand:
Blam Blam Blam said:
A lack of sheep is mentioned, and panic implied. Coincidence? I think not
In all seriousness, 1982 saw the apex of NZ's sheep population of ~70 million. At this rate mutton pies are going to become the national dish, for all the farmers are going to be offloading sheep (MacGregors will be pleased - Julius Vogel and other Otago folk know what I'm on about
).Subscribed!
And I had just started high school in Taihape in 1984. Folks were strong Social Credit voters too.
Most of my family was in Wellington in '84, so.... crap. That said, the hills around Miramar should protect my grandparents and everyone else lived either in the Hutt or north of Johnsonville. Not sure if the nuke would get my aunt in Oriental Bay or the cousins in Newlands though.
And I had just started high school in Taihape in 1984. Folks were strong Social Credit voters too.
Most of my family was in Wellington in '84, so.... crap. That said, the hills around Miramar should protect my grandparents and everyone else lived either in the Hutt or north of Johnsonville. Not sure if the nuke would get my aunt in Oriental Bay or the cousins in Newlands though.
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A couple of responses:
What do you think? The country in a blind panic isn't usually conducive to a scholastic environment, not to mention half the teachers (and students) going AWOL.
Become? With the other two main contenders nuked, Christchurch is the largest city as of the morning of the 23rd.
Remains to be seen. I'm currently trying to hunt down famous sports stars of the 80s (myself being of the age where I only know of Hagley as the cricket guy they named a park after, and Buck Shelford as the bloke who got his scrotum torn open by the French
).Thanks, apologies for the sarcasm. I'm unpleasant before breakfast
I was also referring to before the Exchange; the panic of the Three Days' Hate was the start of mass absenteeism, so assume schools closed from the 19th onwards. Unfortunately, this meant a lot of families were still planning their evacuations when the bombs fell, or had just got on the roads