The Free East Timor Coalition was founded September 14, 1997 in Whaingaroa (Raglan), New Zealand. It served as a national coalition for East Timor solidarity groups around Aotearoa (New Zealand). Its founding members hailed from six solidarity groups based in the following areas: Whangārei, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Ōtautahi (Christchurch), and Ōtepoti (Dunedin). It was at the Coalition's founding meeting on September 14, 1997 that members decided to jointly publish the Nettalk newsletter on a quarterly basis. Activists also pooled their resources and experience to streamline and maximize the impact of solidarity efforts. The Coalition, in turn, financed the printing and distribution of newsletters, national and international communication costs, some speaking tour costs, meetings with Government and administrative costs.