Cushla Watson

It was 10 July 1985 when the Rainbow Warrior sunk at its Marsden Wharf moorings in Auckland, after two explosive devices were set on her hull. The French government committed this act of terrorism in New Zealand. It is believed that at least 13 members of the French security and armed forces were involved in the incident in which a Rainbow Warrior crew member was killed.

Cushla Watson joined the Police in 1973 and by time of this event she was a seasoned and experienced detective. She was an integral part of the investigative team and worked the case from day one. Only two members of the French team, Major Alain Marfat and Captain Dominique Prieur (posing as Sophie and Alain Turenge) were arrested and held to account.

Detective Cushla Watson was the first policewoman to be sent out of New Zealand with an investigative brief. During her enquiries she visited Switzerland to check on the legitimacy of the Turenge passports which were claimed to have been issued in Lyon, France but proved to be fraudulent. She made enquiries in France, where her investigations were scrutinised and she was unable to conduct her own interviews. It was clear that higher authorities were controlling French Police actions.

In England, with the cooperation of the Metropolitan Police, she linked Gerald Andries a crew member on the yachtOuvéa to the purchase of the Zodiac boat and Yamaha motor used to plant the explosive devices. The Ouvéa was believed to have dropped the Turenge couple off on the New Zealand coast.

Cushla had postponed having her family while establishing her career but eventually took maternity leave and bore two sons. She and another detective put forward a proposal to job share to make it easier for women with children to work but flexible employment was not an option, and after battling bureaucracy and the then attitudes of the police administration both women resigned. The service lost two competent and very experienced detectives.