Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Springbok rugby tour protests were a series of anti-apartheid protests that broke out across New Zealand in 1981, lasting 56 days and involving some 150,000 protesters. The protests were the longest-sustained anti-apartheid protests involving civil disobedience and direct action, and were met with the largest showing of police power that New Zealand had ever experienced. In 1977, the (British) Commonwealth of Nations signed the Gleneagles Agreement, a pact amongst the Commonwealth countries that aimed to support the international struggle against apartheid by discouraging contact amongst national sports teams with those from South Africa “or from any other country where sports are organized on the basis of race, color or ethnic origin.” Prior to this, the Springbok rugby union team of South Africa and the All Blacks rugby union team of New Zealand had a longstanding rivalry, making their matches very popular amongst rugby fans in New Zealand. As far back as the 1920s, however, people protested the Springboks' racist selection policies. Groups such as Halt All Racist Tours (HART) formed in the late 1960s and became prominent again in 1980 when New Zealand's conservative prime minister, Robert Muldoon, granted permission for a 1981 New Zealand tour by the Springboks. Most of New Zealand was split into two camps over the decision: pro-tour and anti-tour. Those in the pro-tour camp ... log in or subscribe to read full text