1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States

Last updated

Police officers guarding a barbed wire perimeter around Eden Park near Kingsland railway station 1981-springbok-tour-auckland-kingsland-station.jpg
Police officers guarding a barbed wire perimeter around Eden Park near Kingsland railway station

The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the 1981 Springbok Tour, and in South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand. [1] [2]

Contents

Apartheid had made South Africa an international pariah, and other countries were strongly discouraged from having sporting contacts with it. Rugby union was (and is) an extremely popular sport in New Zealand, and the South African national team, known as the Springboks, were considered to be New Zealand's most formidable opponents. [3] Therefore, there was a major split in opinion in New Zealand as to whether politics should influence sport in this way and whether the Springboks should be allowed to tour.

Despite the controversy, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) decided to proceed with the tour. The government of Prime Minister Robert Muldoon was called on to ban it, but decided that commitments under the Gleneagles Agreement did not require the government to prevent the tour, and decided not to interfere due to their public position of "no politics in sport". Major protests ensued, aiming to make clear many New Zealanders' opposition to apartheid and, if possible, to stop the matches taking place. This was successful at two games, but also had the effect of creating a law and order issue: whether a group of protesters could be allowed to prevent a lawful game taking place.

The dispute was similar to that involving Peter Hain in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, when Hain's Stop the Tour campaign clashed with the more conservative 'Freedom Under Law' movement championed by barrister Francis Bennion. The allegedly excessive police response to the protests also became a focus of controversy. Although the protests were among the most intense in New Zealand's recent history, no deaths or serious injuries resulted.

After the tour, no official sporting contact took place between New Zealand and South Africa until the early 1990s, after apartheid had been abolished. The tour has been said to have led to a decline in the popularity of rugby union in New Zealand, until the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

Background

A 1959 poster advertising a meeting of the Citizens' All Black Tour Association to protest against racially selected All Blacks teams touring South Africa NoMaorisNoTour.jpg
A 1959 poster advertising a meeting of the Citizens' All Black Tour Association to protest against racially selected All Blacks teams touring South Africa

The Springboks and New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks, have a long tradition of intense and friendly sporting rivalry. [4] From 1948 to 1969, the South African apartheid regime affected team selection for the All Blacks, with selectors passing over Māori players for some All Black tours to South Africa. [5] Opposition to sending race-based teams to South Africa grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and prior to the All Blacks' tour of South Africa in 1960, 150,000 New Zealanders – 6.25% of the country's population at that time – signed a petition supporting a policy of "No Maoris, No Tour". [5] Despite this, the tour went ahead, and in 1969, Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was formed. [6]

During the 1970s, public protests and political pressure forced on the NZRFU the choice of either fielding a team not selected by race, or not touring South Africa: [5] after South African rugby authorities continued to select Springbok players by race, [4] the Norman Kirk Labour Government barred the Springboks from touring New Zealand in 1973. [6] In response, the NZRFU protested about the involvement of "politics in sport".

On 28 March 1976, the final game of ex-All Black Fergie McCormick was played at Lancaster Park in Christchurch, to which two Springbok players had been invited. Ten days before the game, protesters had written "WELCOME TO RACIST GAME" in 20-foot high letters on the pitch using weed-killer. [7] [8] [9]

The All Blacks toured South Africa in 1976 with the blessing of the newly elected New Zealand prime minister, Robert Muldoon. [10] In response, twenty-five African nations boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, [11] stating that in their view the All Blacks tour gave tacit support to the apartheid regime in South Africa: the IOC declined to ban New Zealand from the Olympics on the grounds that rugby union was no longer an Olympic sport. The tour attracted several anti-apartheid protests in New Zealand, including one on 28 May 1976 in Cathedral Square, Christchurch which attracted 1000–1500 people and included guerrilla theatre. [12] [13] Protesters also attempted to disrupt television coverage of the first test by vandalising the Makara Hill microwave station in Wellington, which was responsible for relaying programming in and out of TV One's Avalon studios. [14]

The 1976 tour contributed to the creation of the Gleneagles Agreement that was adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1977. [15]

Tour of New Zealand

Entry to Eden Park before the Auckland test match 1981-springbok-tour-auckland-entry-to-ground.jpg
Entry to Eden Park before the Auckland test match

By the early 1980s, the pressure from other countries and from protest groups in New Zealand such as HART reached a head when the NZRFU proposed a Springbok tour for 1981. This became a topic of political contention due to the international sports boycott. After the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, refused permission for the Springboks' aircraft to refuel in Australia, [16] the Springboks' flights to and from New Zealand went via Los Angeles and Hawaii. [17]

Anti-tour poster from Wellington 1981 stop the tour poster.jpg
Anti-tour poster from Wellington

Despite pressure for the Muldoon government to cancel the tour, permission was granted for it, and the Springboks arrived in New Zealand on 19 July 1981. Since 1977 Muldoon's government had been a party to the Gleneagles Agreement, in which the countries of the Commonwealth accepted that it was:

the urgent duty of each of their Governments vigorously to combat the evil of apartheid by withholding any form of support for, and by taking every practical step to discourage contact or competition by their nationals with sporting organisations, teams or sportsmen from South Africa or from any other country where sports are organised on the basis of race, colour or ethnic origin.

Despite this, Muldoon also argued that New Zealand was a free and democratic country, and that "politics should stay out of sport." In the years following the Gleneagles Agreement, it seemed that New Zealand government members did not feel bound to the Gleneagles agreement, and disregarded it. However, some historians claim that, "the [Gleneagles] agreement remained vague enough to avoid the New Zealand government from having to use coercive powers such as withdrawing visas and passports." [18] This means Muldoon's government technically was not bound to the agreement to the extent it outwardly appeared to the public. In addition to this, Ben Couch, who was the minister for Māori development at the time, stated, "I believe that the Gleneagles agreement has been forced upon us by people who do not have the same kind of democracy that we have." [19]

Muldoon made some effort to discourage the tour and stated that he could see "nothing but trouble coming from this." [20] "A Springbok tour would dash to the ground all that has been achieved as a result of international acceptance", wrote deputy Prime Minister Brian Talboys to the chairman of the NZRFU in a further attempt to discourage the tour, "[the tour] may affect the harmonious development of the Commonwealth and international sport". [18]

Some rugby supporters echoed the separation of politics and sport, [21] [22] while other rugby supporters argued that if the tour were cancelled, there would be no reporting of the widespread criticism of apartheid in New Zealand in the controlled South African media.

Muldoon's critics felt that he allowed the tour in order for his National Party to secure the votes of rural and provincial conservatives in the general election later in the year, which National won. [23] Along with Muldoon's policy of "leaving sporting contacts to sporting bodies", Muldoon also held the opinion that the disruption and division of New Zealand was not caused by the NZRFU, nor the Springboks, but the anti-tour protesters themselves. [24] This argument was vehemently refuted by anti-tour voices, political activist Tom Newnham claimed that the government enabled "the greatest breakdown in law and order [New Zealand] has ever witnessed." [25]

The ensuing public protests polarised New Zealand: [23] while rugby fans filled the football grounds, protest crowds filled the surrounding streets, and on one occasion succeeded in invading the pitch and stopping the game. [26]

Initially the anti-tour movement was committed to non-violent civil disobedience, demonstrations and direct action.[ citation needed ] As protection for the Springboks, the police created two special riot squads, the Red and Blue Squads. [27] [28] These police were, controversially, the first in New Zealand to be issued with visored riot helmets and long batons (more commonly the side-handle baton).[ citation needed ] Some protesters were intimidated and interpreted this initial police response as overkill and heavy-handed tactics.[ citation needed ] After early disruptions, police began to require that all spectators assemble in sports grounds at least an hour before kick-off.[ citation needed ] While the protests were meant to be largely peaceful resistance to the Springbok tour, quite often there were "violent confrontations with rugby supporters and specially trained riot police." [29]

At Gisborne on the day before the match anti-tour activists, including Mereana Pitman, gained access to the pitch with a vehicle and tipped broken glass on the pitch. [30] On 22 July, [31] protesters managed to break through a fence, but quick action by spectators and ground security prevented the game being disrupted. Some protesters were beaten by police. From the very first match of the tour in Gisborne, protester tension levels ran high, and one protester, cartoonist Murray Ball, who was the son of an All Black, recalled that it "was strange for New Zealanders to feel so aggressive towards other New Zealanders" and that he was "scared as hell" when he came up against pro-tour defenders. [30]

Hamilton: Game cancelled

At Rugby Park, Hamilton (the site of today's Waikato Stadium), on 25 July, [31] about 350 protesters invaded the pitch after pulling down a fence. The police arrested about 50 of them over a period of an hour, but were concerned that they could not control the rugby crowd, who were throwing bottles and other objects at the protesters. [32] Following reports that a stolen light plane (piloted by Pat McQuarrie) [33] was approaching the stadium, police cancelled the match. [32]

The protesters were ushered from the ground and were advised by protest marshals to remove any anti-tour insignia from their attire, with enraged rugby spectators lashing out at them. [32] Gangs of rugby supporters waited outside Hamilton police station for arrested protesters to be processed and released, and assaulted some protesters making their way into Victoria Street. There are many reports from protesters feeling unsafe during this protest. "It was terrifying, I don’t know how big the crowd was, but they were clearly furious …. The police looked vulnerable as they spread out around the whole ground", recollects one protester. [32]

Wellington: Molesworth Street protest

The aftermath of the Hamilton game, followed by the bloody batoning of marchers in Wellington's Molesworth Street in the following week, in which police batoned bare-headed protesters, led to the radicalisation of the protest movement. There are many instances where the protesters had to fear for their safety, especially considering the violence that began on Molesworth Street, where police are said to have "behaved rather too similarly to South African police", according to Tom Newnham. [34] Former police officer, Ross Muerant, who was pro-tour, speaks of the Molesworth St protest: "The protestors, who so obviously lacked self-control, were that evening privy to a classic display of discipline." [35] This perspective of the police tactics has severe opposition from anti-tour activists, with claims that protesters were "savagely attacked by police", and that "police provoked violence." [29] While Newnham's claims that the violence towards protesters from police was unjustified was likely true in his experience, Muerant maintains that there were protesters who intended to inflict "serious injury or disfigurement" on the police. [35]

Because of this, many protesters began to wear motorcycle or bicycle helmets to protect themselves from batons and head injury. [36] [37]

The authorities strengthened security at public facilities after protesters disrupted telecommunications by damaging a waveguide on a microwave repeater, disrupting telephone and data services, though TV transmissions continued as they were carried by a separate waveguide on the tower. [38] Army engineers were deployed,[ citation needed ] and the remaining grounds were surrounded with razor wire and shipping container barricades to decrease the chances of another pitch invasion. At Eden Park, an emergency escape route was constructed from the visitors' changing rooms for use if the stadium was overrun by protesters. Crowds of anti-tour protesters stood outside as the police were overwhelmed but the hundreds of police still managed to prevent the protesters from entering the stadium. [39]

Christchurch

At Lancaster Park, Christchurch, on 15 August, [31] some protesters managed to break through a security cordon and a number invaded the pitch.[ citation needed ] They were quickly removed and forcibly ejected from the stadium by security staff and spectators.[ citation needed ] A large demonstration managed to occupy the street adjacent to the ground and confront the riot police. [40] Spectators were kept in the ground until the protesters dispersed.[ citation needed ]

Auckland: plane invasion

A smoke bomb at Eden Park 1981-springbok-tour-auckland-smoke-bomb.jpg
A smoke bomb at Eden Park

A low-flying Cessna 172 piloted by Marx Jones and Grant Cole disrupted the final test at Eden Park, Auckland, on 12 September [31] by dropping flour-bombs on the pitch, despite which the game continued. [41] "Patches" of criminal gangs, such as traditional rivals Black Power and the Mongrel Mob, were also evident.[ citation needed ] (Black Power were Muldoon supporters. [42] ) A group of peaceful protestors dressed as clowns were beaten with batons by police. [43] The same day in Warkworth, Dunedin and Timaru protesters stormed the local TV transmitters and shut off coverage of the game. [44] [45]

The protest movement

Some of the protest had the dual purpose of linking racial discrimination against Māori in New Zealand to apartheid in South Africa. Some of the protesters, particularly young Māori, felt frustrated by the image of New Zealand as a paradise for racial unity. [22] Many opponents of racism in New Zealand in the early 1980s saw it as useful to use the protests against South Africa as a vehicle for wider social action.[ citation needed ] However, some Māori supported the tour and attended games.[ citation needed ] John Minto, the national organizer for HART, thought that the tour "stimulate[d] the whole debate about racism, and the place of Māori in our community." [46] Political activist Tom Newnham’s opinion echoes that of Minto’s, albeit considerably more radical, stating that "we are basically the same as white South Africans, just as racist." [47] Some of those protesting racism in South Africa felt inclined to reflect on the racial divide in their own country, before condemning another – part-Māori rugby spectator Kevin Taylor did not join the protests because he "wanted New Zealand to fix its own issues before New Zealanders started telling other countries how to fix their problems." [48]

Tour of the United States

With the American leg of the tour following directly after the events of New Zealand, further protests and clashes with police were expected. [2] Threats of riots caused city officials in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Rochester to withdraw their previous authorisation for the Springboks to play in their cities. [2]

Midwest

The Springboks' match against the Midwest All Stars team had originally been intended to be played in Chicago. Following the anti-apartheid protests, it was secretly rescheduled to the mid morning of Saturday 19 September at Roosevelt Park in Racine, Wisconsin. [49] The clandestine strategy seemingly worked as around 500 spectators gathered to watch the match. Late in the game, however, a small number of protesters arrived to disrupt proceedings and two were arrested after a brief altercation broke out on the field. [49]

Albany: pipe bomb

The cancelled New York City match against the Eastern All Stars was moved upstate to Albany. [50] The long serving Mayor of Albany, Erastus Corning, maintained that there was a right of peaceful assembly to "publicly espouse an unpopular cause," despite his own stated view that "I abhor everything about apartheid". [49] Governor Hugh Carey argued that the event should be barred as the anti-apartheid demonstrators presented an "imminent danger of riot", but a Federal court ruling allowing the game to be played was upheld in the United States Court of Appeals. A further appeal to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was also overruled on the grounds of free speech. [50]

The match went ahead with around a thousand demonstrators (including Pete Seeger) corralled 100 yards away from the field of play, which was surrounded by the police. No violence occurred at the game but a pipe bomb was set off in the early morning outside the headquarters of the Eastern Rugby Union resulting in damage to the building estimated at $50,000. [50] No one was injured.

Glenville

The final match of the tour, against the United States national team, took place in secret at Glenville in upstate New York. [51] The thirty spectators recorded at the match is the lowest ever attendance for an international rugby match. [1]

The matches

1981 Springbok tour
Manager Johan Claassen
Tour captain(s) Wynand Claassen
Summary
PWDL
Total
17 140102
Test match
04020002
Opponent
PWDL
New Zealand
3 1 0 2
United States
1 1 0 0

In New Zealand

Schedule of matches [52]
DateVenueTeamWinner and score
Wed 22 July Gisborne Poverty Bay SA 6–24
Sat 25 July Hamilton Waikato cancelled
Wed 29 July New Plymouth Taranaki SA 9–34
Sat 1 August Palmerston North Manawatu SA 19–31
Wed 5 August Whanganui Wanganui SA 9–45
Sat 8 August Invercargill Southland SA 6–22
Tue 11 August Dunedin Otago SA 13–17
Sat 15 August Christchurch New Zealand (1st Test)NZ 14–9
Tue 19 August Timaru South Canterbury cancelled
Sat 22 August Nelson Nelson Bays SA 0–83
Tue 25 August Napier NZ Māori 12–12
Sat 29 August Wellington New Zealand (2nd Test)SA 12–24
Tue 2 September Rotorua Bay of Plenty SA 24–29
Sat 5 September Auckland Auckland SA 12–39
Tue 8 September Whangārei North Auckland SA 10–19
Sat 12 September Auckland New Zealand (3rd Test)NZ 25–22

In United States

Schedule of matches [49] [50] [51]
DateVenueTeamWinner and score
Sat 19 September Racine, Wisconsin Midwest All Stars SA 46–12
Tue 22 September Albany, New York Eastern All StarsSA 41–0
Fri 25 September Glenville, New York United States (Test match)SA 38–7

Touring party

NamePositionProvincial TeamAge
(in 1981)
Height
(m)
Weight
(kg)
OccupationCaps
Gysie Pienaar Fullback Free State 261.7585Development Officer10
Johan Heunis Fullback Northern Transvaal 231.8585Serviceman
Edrich Krantz Wing Free State 261.8382Doctor2
Ray Mordt Wing Transvaal 241.8189Representative10
Darius Botha Wing Northern Transvaal 261.8393Pastor
Gerrie Germishuys Wing Transvaal 311.8390Sports officer17
Carel du Plessis Centre Western Province 211.8485Student
Willie du Plessis Centre Western Province 251.8083Serviceman9
Errol Tobias Centre Boland 311.7477Artisan2
Danie Gerber Centre Eastern Province 261.8590Clerk35
Colin Beck Flyhalf Western Province 221.8082Student
Naas Botha Flyhalf Northern Transvaal 231.7973Sports officer11
Divan Serfontein Scrumhalf Western Province 261.6764Doctor9
Barry Wolmarans Scrumhalf Free State 321.6568Development Officer1
Wynand Claassen No. 8 Natal 301.8590Architect2
Johan Marais No. 8 Northern Transvaal 221.9492Student
Thys Burger Flanker Northern Transvaal 261.9592Sports Officer2
Burger Geldenhuys Flanker Northern Transvaal 251.8891Student
Eben Jansen Flanker Free State 271.9098Development Officer
Rob Louw Flanker Western Province 261.8991Sports Officer11
Theuns Stofberg Lock Northern Transvaal 261.95105Physiotherapist15
Div Visser Lock Western Province 231.95109Air Force Technician
Hennie Bekker Lock Western Province 282.00113Sports officer
Louis Moolman Lock Northern Transvaal 301.95111Farmer12
Flippie van der Merwe Prop South Western Districts 231.96130Serviceman
Ockie Oosthuizen Prop Northern Transvaal 261.88102Serviceman2
Hempies du Toit Prop Western Province 281.85100Farmer
Henning van Aswegen Prop Western Province 261.8695Businessman
Willie Kahts Hooker Northern Transvaal 341.8091Teacher8
Robert Cockrell Hooker Western Province 311.8390Representative7
Shaun Povey Hooker (tour replacement) Western Province 261.8492Student
Gawie Visagie Scrumhalf (tour replacement) Natal 261.8182Representative

Aftermath

The Muldoon government was re-elected in the 1981 election losing three seats to leave it with a majority of one.

The NZRFU constitution contained much high-minded wording about promoting the image of rugby and New Zealand, and generally being a benefit to society. In 1985, the NZRFU proposed an All Black tour of South Africa: two lawyers successfully sued it, claiming such a tour would breach its constitution. A High Court injunction by Justice Casey saw the tour cancelled. [53] [54]

Afterwards, the All Blacks would not tour South Africa until after the fall of the apartheid regime, with the next official tour in 1992. After the 1985 tour was cancelled, an unofficial tour took place a year later by a team that included 28 out of the 30 All Blacks selected for the 1985 tour, known as the New Zealand Cavaliers, a team that was often advertised in South Africa as the All Blacks and/or depicted with the Silver Fern.

After the All Blacks won the 1987 Rugby World Cup, rugby union was once again the dominant sport – in both spectator and participant numbers – in New Zealand. [55]

In New Zealand culture

See also

Notes and references

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  2. 1 2 3 Grondahl, Paul (6 December 2013). "All eyes were on Albany and Apartheid in 1981". Times Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. "All Blacks versus Springboks". nzhistory.net.nz. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 Watters, Steve. "A long tradition of rugby rivalry". nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 Watters, Steve. "'Politics and sport don't mix'". nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  6. 1 2 Watters, Steve. "Stopping the 1973 tour". nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  7. "Say it in acid". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  8. "Message with a difference". The Press. 29 March 1976.
  9. "WELCOME TO RACIST GAME". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  10. Fortuin, Gregory (20 July 2006). "It's time to close the final chapter". The New Zealand Herald.
  11. "On This Day 17 July 1976". BBC. 17 July 1976. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
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  13. "1500 in City Protest". Christchurch Star. 29 May 1976. p. 15.
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  17. Chapple 1984, p. 60.
  18. 1 2 "The whole world's watching" (PDF). eprints.lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  19. "Looking Back – Episode 11 – Parliament On Demand". ondemand.parliament.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
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  22. 1 2 "Battle lines are drawn – 1981 Springbok tour | NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online". Nzhistory.net.nz. 24 February 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
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  25. Newnham 1981, p. 39.
  26. Ardern, Crystal (22 July 2006). "Springbok Tour 1981". Waikato Times. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008.
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  33. Chapple 1984, pp. 77–78, 91, 99–102.
  34. Rankin, Elizabeth (January 2007). "Banners, batons and barbed wire: Anti-apartheid images of the Springbok rugby tour protests in New Zealand". De Arte. 42 (76): 21–32. doi:10.1080/00043389.2007.11877076. ISSN   0004-3389. S2CID   127562230.
  35. 1 2 Meurant, Jacques (February 1987). "Ces lieux où Henry Dunant…Story in stone…". International Review of the Red Cross. 27 (256): 123–124. doi:10.1017/s0020860400061155. ISSN   0020-8604.
  36. "Film: clash on Molesworth St – 1981 Springbok tour | NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online". Nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  37. Eddie Gay (24 May 2008). "Minto's battered helmet to go on display at Te Papa". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  38. "Lecturer admits 1981 tour sabotage", The Press, 14 July 2001.
  39. Gay, Edward (7 August 2008). "Eden Park revamp uncovers secret escape route". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  40. "The first test: Lancaster Park, Christchurch, 15 August 1981". New Zealand History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  41. "Film: the third test – 1981 Springbok tour". NZHistory. Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  42. Hazlehurst, Kayleen M.; Hazlehurst, Cameron, eds. (2008). Gangs and youth subcultures. Transaction. ISBN   9781412824323.[ dead link ]
  43. Bingham, Eugene (11 August 2001). "The code of silence over a tour's infamous bashing". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
  44. Gorman, Paul (28 May 2018). "Recalling the day rugby coverage was cut". Otago Daily Times.
  45. Chapple 1984, pp. 288–291.
  46. "John Minto – 1981 Springbok tour | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  47. "Man rugby fans hated", Sunday Star Times, 13 March 1994.
  48. Melissa A. Morrison (2017). The Grassroots of the 1981 Springbok Tour: An examination of the actions and perspectives of everyday New Zealanders during the 1981 Springbok Rugby Tour of New Zealand (MA thesis). University of Canterbury. doi:10.26021/4219. hdl:10092/14533.
  49. 1 2 3 4 1981: Secret site curbs rugby protest. The Journal Times. 8 September 2013.
  50. 1 2 3 4 Protesters in Albany shout as Springboks triumph in rainfall. The New York Times. 23 September 1981.
  51. 1 2 A Test of the Times. Houston Press. 13 December 2001.
  52. "Tour diary". nzhistory.govt.nz.
  53. Adlam, Geoff. "Rt Hon Sir Maurice Eugene Casey, 1923 – 2012". New Zealand Law Society. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  54. Tahana, Yvonne (21 January 2012). "Judge's ruling halted divisive All Black tour". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  55. McMurran, Alister (18 November 2005). "'87 Cup healed '81 tour's wounds". Otago Daily Times.
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Bibliography


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The following lists events that happened during 1981 in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halt All Racist Tours</span>

Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was a protest group set up in New Zealand in 1969 to protest against rugby union tours to and from South Africa. Founding member Trevor Richards served as president for its first 10 years, with fellow founding member John Minto then serving as president until South Africa dismantled apartheid in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in New Zealand</span>

Rugby union has been played in New Zealand since 1870 and is the most popular sport in the country as well as being its national sport.

The 1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was a controversial six-week rugby union tour by the Springboks to Australia. Anti-apartheid protests came to being all around the country. The tour is perhaps most infamous for a state of emergency being declared in Queensland.
In total, around 700 people were arrested whilst the Springboks were on tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Newnham</span>

Thomas Oliver Newnham was a New Zealand political activist and educationalist. He was involved in several left wing causes: attacking institutional racism in New Zealand, and opposing the 1981 Springbok Tour and apartheid in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Minto</span> New Zealand political activist

John Minto is a New Zealand political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers listed him as number 89. As of 2011, he is involved with the protest group Global Peace and Justice Auckland and the Unite Union. He also wrote a weekly column for The Press and was formerly editor of the Workers' Charter newspaper.

New Zealand and South Africa have been playing Test Match Rugby against each other since 1921 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Dunedin 13–5. It is argued to be the biggest rivalry in World Rugby history. There is considerable history behind these matches, much of it off the field. In 1981, there were numerous protests in New Zealand over the Springboks coming to tour New Zealand due to the then South African government's policy of Apartheid. Consequently, subsequent tours were cancelled and the All Blacks and Springboks did not meet again until August 1992, in Johannesburg, when the Springboks were re-admitted to World Rugby. Until 1996 New Zealand had never won a series in South Africa but South Africa had won a series in New Zealand in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third National Government of New Zealand</span> New Zealand government led by Robert Muldoon from 1975 to 1984

The Third National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. It was an economically conservative government that aimed to preserve the Keynesian economic system established by the First Labour government and was also socially conservative. Throughout its three terms it was led by Robert Muldoon, a populist but antagonistic politician who was sometimes described as the National Party's best asset and worst liability.

The Cavaliers was an unofficial New Zealand rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986. Because of the Apartheid policies of the South African government, the official New Zealand Rugby Union tour scheduled for 1985 was cancelled, and the Cavaliers tour was very controversial in New Zealand.

1949 saw the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand rugby union team. The All Blacks achieved a record of 13 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws, and they lost the test series 4–0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Smith (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

John Burns Smith was a New Zealand rugby union player, soldier, sportsman and baker. He was an All Black captain, and despite only playing nine matches is recognised as a great. His 26 appearances for the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force rugby team, which toured the UK in 1946–47, earned him high praise. He also played for the New Zealand Māori, being of Ngāpuhi descent.

Rugby union is the national sport of New Zealand with the All Blacks as the national team. The All Blacks are made up of many races and cultures, and seven of the fifteen starters in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final were of Polynesian descent. However, although the national team has a long history of success, it also has on occasion been the subject of racial issues. On the international stage there has been controversy in the tours of and by South Africa, the most famous of which was the 1981 tour by South Africa. These tours drew much international criticism as many states were boycotting South Africa due to apartheid. On the domestic stage there have been issues of racism in the Super Rugby competition. There have also been some instances of racism in college rugby and club rugby. Racism is quite a serious human rights issue in New Zealand, which was highlighted in the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The 1960 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, was a series of rugby union matches played by the New Zealand national rugby union team in South Africa and Rhodesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union and apartheid</span> Complex and supportive relationship

Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rugby union in New Zealand</span>

Rugby union has a long history in New Zealand. Today, New Zealand holds tier one status with World Rugby.

The History of the South Africa national rugby union team dates back to 1891, when the British Lions first toured South Africa where they played against South African representative sides. The South Africa national rugby union team played few international matches during a period of international sanctions due to apartheid. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has once again fully participated in international rugby.

Patu! is a 1983 New Zealand documentary film directed by Merata Mita about the controversial 1981 Springbok tour. It follows the inner workings of the campaign against the tour, and captures scenes of violent conflict between police and protesters. It is a significant work of activist and indigenous filmmaking, and of New Zealand filmmaking in general.