Owen Wilkes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Owen Ronald Wilkes 1940 |
| Died | 12 May 2005 (aged 64–65) Kawhia, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Peace campaigner |
Owen Ronald Wilkes (1940 – 12 May 2005) was apeace campaigner and the founder of theCampaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and theAnti-Bases Campaign,[1] who was given a suspended prison sentence for espionage in Norway (theWilkes/Gleditsch trial).[2]
The son of a grocer, Wilkes grew up inChristchurch, attendingChristchurch West High School andCanterbury University. He worked as a field assistant for theBishop Museum of Hawaii, on expeditions toAntarctica and theKermadec Islands.[1] He worked on archaeological digs led by ethnologistRoger Duff.[3]
He became politicised in theanti-war movement, which led to invitations to work for theInternational Peace Research Institute in Oslo and theStockholm International Peace Research Institute. These activities led to the 1982Wilkes/Gleditsch trial in Norway for compiling materials fromopen sources into materials judged to reveal national secrets.[4] Wilkes received a suspended prison sentence, as well as a fine. On his return to New Zealand from Norway after the trial, he found hisPunakaiki house had been pulled down for being erected without a permit. After Wilkes took upbeekeeping nearKaramea in 1983, it was discovered thatCustoms was cooperating with theSIS to monitor his international mail. Nothing threatening national security was ever found.[2]
Wilkes was highly visible in New Zealand in the 1970s and '80s as the public face of the peace movement.[5] He campaigned against installations atBlack Birch,Mt John andTangimoana in New Zealand; and links between the New Zealand military and foreign powers.[6]
In 1990 his only child Koa committed suicide while living in Christchurch, contributing to his retirement to Kawhia.[6] After his retirement from the peace movement, he was active in theNew Zealand Archaeological Association.[7]
Having suffered bouts of depression all his life, he died by gassing himself in his car on 12 May 2005.[8][9] He is commemorated by a park bench inBeckenham facing theŌpāwaho / Heathcote River, near where he grew up.[10]
Wilkes was born in Christchurch, the son of a grocer. He moved to a farm near Karamea in 1983 and took up bee-keeping, but achieved prominence again the next year when it was discovered that Customs had opened packages sent to Wilkes from overseas and forwarded the contents to the Security Intelligence Service.
But now he is doing archaeological work in a more amateur capacity, compiling an inventory of Maori pa sites in the Waikato, and is file keeper for the New Zealand Archaeological Association. He also does archaeological research for farmers and is a commentator on history tours around Kawhia harbour.[dead link]
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
