directed that " ... all reference to industrial development at Aramoana is to be deleted ... ". While the planning and legal battles were being fought the broader field saw the campaign kept on the public stage : the declaration of the Independent State of Aramoana allowed that notional entity to issue a collector's set of stamps. with original art work donated by leading New Zealand artists for the purpose, and these raised nearly NZ$500,000 in 1982 terms. The campaign was remarkably well funded. Several New Zealand artists were involved in the campaign in other ways, most notably Ralph Hotere, who produced the Aramoana series of paintings in response to the smelter issue. The public campaign also ensured that Government could not lightly face the serious political risk of bringing down a special Empowering Act to force the smelter through, as it had done with the Clyde High Dam. The tide had turned against Think Big, and the smelter was left to sink without trace. Pechiney had left, Alusuisse went off to look for a more congenial site in Zaire, and Aramoana saw the village made freehold and the saltmarsh gazetted as a reserve. Independent State of Aramoana The smelter plan called for the destruction of the villages of Aramoana and Te Ngaru, and also threatened a local wildlife reserve. In response residents of the area announced their secession from New Zealand on 23 December 1980, established a "border post" and "travelling embassy", printed passports, citizenship certificates and postage stamps, and set about using the resultant publicity to build a national grassroots campaign in opposition to the smelter. The campaign attracted the attention of artists such as Ralph Hotere, as well as conservationists and heritage researchers such as Peter Entwisle. The consortium was endorsed by the New Zealand Government, which initially proposed to subsidise the cost of electricity required for the smelter's operation, leading to fears that the wider population of New Zealand would be faced with significant electricity price hikes in the longer term. However, the campaign waged by the independent state supporters eventually forced a government backdown, calling into question the economic viability of the project. This development combined with declining aluminium prices on world commodity markets, eventually led to the withdrawal of Alusuisse from the consortium in October, 1981. The remaining partners failed to secure additional investment capital, and eventually abandoned the project, paving the way for