Course of the Event
The history between the All Blacks and the South African rugby teams was already very dense.In 1968, a tour of South Africa had been scheduled. However protests emerged about the injustice of the South Africans only allow a white team to travel over and play them. "No Maoris No Tour" was protested throughout New Zealand, and the government then rejected the tour. Prime Minister Holyoake stated, "as we are one people, we cannot fully or truly be represented by a team chosen on racial lines.'
In 1976, Robert Muldoon and his national party allowed the All Blacks to tour South Africa. Muldoon was not afraid to go against world opinion, and ignore the fact that New Zealand was being questioned by the Commonwealth and United Nations. This caused New Zealand's International reputation to reach and all time low. This set up for the protests that would come with the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand.
The NZ Rugby Union planned an eight-week tour with our rival rugby country, South Africa. The tour was scheduled for July, and the Muldoon Government saw it that they could allow the tour to go ahead due to the Gleneagles Agreement stating that, "each government to determine, in accordance with its laws, the methods by which it might best discharge these commitments." Muldoon supposedly believed that in having this connection with South Africa, it could encourage them to change their ways in seeing how well people lived in a multi-race nation like New Zealand. However, many of the public did not agree with this opinion and saw it as unethical to allow the tour to take place, when such serious racial segregation was occurring in South Africa. Figures showed that 2 percent more of the populations were against the tour over those who were for it. By the end of the tour this increased to 13% more. Significant protests now began to take place throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand was not accustomed to the violence that would take place during the 1981 Springbok Tour. Even families had become divided over opinions on whether the tour should be allowed or not, as can be seen in the primary sources section of this website. Society had never been more divided than when it was during the protest occurring at this time. Whether people took place in protests or not, supported the tour passionately or not, almost every member of New Zealand had an opinion on the tour. The effects were wide-spread and included every single family in the country. To counter protest movements, the police formed "Red" and "Blue" riot squads. These squads took a violent and aggressive stance against protesters. In attempt to hold their own against these squads, protesters lined up with crash helmets and padded clothing, some even carrying shields in an attempt for protection against the violence. An example of a protests was at the second game which took place in Hamilton. The game had to be called off due to protesters occupying the field, making it impossible for the game to be played. There was a lot of tension between rugby lovers and these protesters, and after being escorted from the field in Hamilton, they were then attacking by those passionate about the game of rugby, and who believed that politics and sport should not be mixed. Other games were later called off due to security reasons, and in the final match in Auckland, a protesters dressed as a ref ran onto the field and stole the ball. 10,000 protester were outside of the stadium as this game was occurring, but the game went on. The riots outside were extremely violent, and many were injured. Following this an aircraft flew over the game, dropping flower bombs and flares onto the field. Primary sources of the violence during protests can be found in the primary sources section.
The history between the All Blacks and the South African rugby teams was already very dense.In 1968, a tour of South Africa had been scheduled. However protests emerged about the injustice of the South Africans only allow a white team to travel over and play them. "No Maoris No Tour" was protested throughout New Zealand, and the government then rejected the tour. Prime Minister Holyoake stated, "as we are one people, we cannot fully or truly be represented by a team chosen on racial lines.'
In 1976, Robert Muldoon and his national party allowed the All Blacks to tour South Africa. Muldoon was not afraid to go against world opinion, and ignore the fact that New Zealand was being questioned by the Commonwealth and United Nations. This caused New Zealand's International reputation to reach and all time low. This set up for the protests that would come with the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand.
The NZ Rugby Union planned an eight-week tour with our rival rugby country, South Africa. The tour was scheduled for July, and the Muldoon Government saw it that they could allow the tour to go ahead due to the Gleneagles Agreement stating that, "each government to determine, in accordance with its laws, the methods by which it might best discharge these commitments." Muldoon supposedly believed that in having this connection with South Africa, it could encourage them to change their ways in seeing how well people lived in a multi-race nation like New Zealand. However, many of the public did not agree with this opinion and saw it as unethical to allow the tour to take place, when such serious racial segregation was occurring in South Africa. Figures showed that 2 percent more of the populations were against the tour over those who were for it. By the end of the tour this increased to 13% more. Significant protests now began to take place throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand was not accustomed to the violence that would take place during the 1981 Springbok Tour. Even families had become divided over opinions on whether the tour should be allowed or not, as can be seen in the primary sources section of this website. Society had never been more divided than when it was during the protest occurring at this time. Whether people took place in protests or not, supported the tour passionately or not, almost every member of New Zealand had an opinion on the tour. The effects were wide-spread and included every single family in the country. To counter protest movements, the police formed "Red" and "Blue" riot squads. These squads took a violent and aggressive stance against protesters. In attempt to hold their own against these squads, protesters lined up with crash helmets and padded clothing, some even carrying shields in an attempt for protection against the violence. An example of a protests was at the second game which took place in Hamilton. The game had to be called off due to protesters occupying the field, making it impossible for the game to be played. There was a lot of tension between rugby lovers and these protesters, and after being escorted from the field in Hamilton, they were then attacking by those passionate about the game of rugby, and who believed that politics and sport should not be mixed. Other games were later called off due to security reasons, and in the final match in Auckland, a protesters dressed as a ref ran onto the field and stole the ball. 10,000 protester were outside of the stadium as this game was occurring, but the game went on. The riots outside were extremely violent, and many were injured. Following this an aircraft flew over the game, dropping flower bombs and flares onto the field. Primary sources of the violence during protests can be found in the primary sources section.