New Zealand: The 1981 Springbok Tour

In his film documentary titled The 1981 Springbok Tour: Ten Years On, Bryan Bruce asked the question, “Have we ever been more divided as a nation than we were over the Springbok Tour in 1981?” (Bruce, 1991). Protests, riots, and violence over politics in sport temporarily clouded New Zealand’s image of a peaceful and innocent nation during the Springbok Tour that year. Over 150,000 people participated in more than 200 different protests across the country (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2013). The unrest stemmed from the world’s stance against apartheid; it was “a huge international campaign to isolate South Africa in every aspect of its international dealings” (Edmundson, 2011). For New Zealand, as South Africa’s biggest sporting rival, refusing to participate in events like rugby and cricket was the best way they could contribute to the campaign.

The issue of apartheid had lingered over the rugby rivalry between New Zealand’s All Blacks team and South Africa’s Springboks for years. Until 1970, when the All Blacks visited South Africa, their Maori players weren’t allowed to participate (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2012). In 1973, New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk ordered the Rugby Union to call off the Springbok Tour of the country, and the union obliged (Chapple, 1984). In 1977, the Commonwealth Statement on Apartheid in Sport—also known as the Gleneagles Agreement—was created in Scotland (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2012). The conclusion of the Agreement stated: “…there were unlikely to be future sporting contacts of any significance between Commonwealth countries or their nationals and South Africa while that country continues to pursue the detestable policy of apartheid” (Chapple, 1984, p.1).

Because of the Gleneagles Agreement, in 1980 New Zealand’s Prime Minister Robert Muldoon advised the Rugby Union to cancel the Springbok Tour the next year, but when the Union decided to proceed as planned, Muldoon refused to intervene and call off the Tour, standing by his “no politics in sport” stance (Bruce, 1991). In a telecast on 6 July 1981, Muldoon addressed the nation, saying “The vast majority of New Zealanders abhor the system of apartheid, as we abhor racial discrimination wherever it arises. But need we hate South Africans taken one by one?” (Chapple, 1984, p. 54). Many New Zealanders became upset about Muldoon’s inaction toward the Springbok Tour. Trevor Richards, one of the founders of the protest group H.A.R.T. (Halt All Racist Tours), was quoted as saying that Muldoon was “out of step” in his decision to allow the Tour to proceed (Bruce, 1991).

The first public protests started on 1 May 1981, months before the Springboks were set to arrive in New Zealand (Wellington City Libraries, n.d.). In order to prepare for the inevitable public outcry and protests that would continue through the Tour, 108 police officers were recruited for a special bodyguard force called the Red and Blue Squad; these men were trained in hand-to-hand combat and “donned riot gear and adopted tactics never before seen in New Zealand” (Savage & Stone, 2011). The Springboks team arrived in New Zealand at Gisborne on 18 July 1981, and were received by large crowds of protestors (Bruce, 1991). The first game was on 22 July in Gisborne, in which the Springboks won 24-6 (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2012). After the game, mobs protested in the streets outside the stadium, but the biggest protest happened at the next game on 25 July at Hamilton.

Before the game, hundreds of people stormed the field and stood in the middle to prevent the game from starting (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2012). Police began making arrests as the protesters chanted “The whole world is watching!” Then, when reports came in that former WWII pilot Pat McQuarrie had stolen a small plane from Taupo and was threatening to fly it into the stadium, the game was cancelled (Bruce, 1991). Many fans in the stadium became frustrated, and started throwing bottles and cans at the protesters as they left the field. Police decided they needed to be more forceful, and on 29 July, at a huge protest on Molesworth Street in Wellington, police used batons on civilians for the first time (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2012). Violent protests continued for the remainder of Tour, most notably at the tests between the All Blacks and Springboks, which were on 15 August in Christchurch, 29 August in Wellington, and finally on 12 September in Auckland (Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2012). Thousands of protesters turned out for each game, filling the streets and clashing violently with police. The All Blacks won the deciding test in Auckland, despite the violent mobs outside the stadium as well as flour bombs and parachute flares being dropped on the field (and players) from a low flying Cessna airplane (Bell, 2011). After the aptly-named ‘Battle of Auckland,’ “there was never another All Black-Springbok contest until after the release of Nelson Mandela and the dispensation in South Africa” (Bell, 2011).

The Springboks left New Zealand the day after the final test, on 13 September 1981 (Wellington City Libraries, n.d.). They did not return until after apartheid had ended in 1994, when tours between the two teams resumed. Many New Zealanders considered the 1981 protests a success in raising awareness for the international controversy of apartheid. The Springbok Tour of 1981 was a monumental time in the history of New Zealand as a nation, and helped to shape its identity, both domestically and on a global scale.

References

Bell, T. (2011, September 13). Remembering the ‘Battle of Auckland’ | Terry Bell Writes. Retrieved from http://terrybellwrites.com/2011/09/13/remembering-the-battle-of-auckland/

Bruce, B. (Director). (1991). The 1981 Springbok Tour: Ten years on [DVD]. New Zealand.

Chapple, G. (1984). 1981, the tour. Wellington, NZ: Reed.

Edmundson, J. (2011, July 20). Thirty years on: The 1981 Springbok tour and protest today – FightBack. Retrieved from http://fightback.org.nz/2011/07/20/thirty-years-on-the-1981-springbok-tour-and-protest-today/

Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2013, July 25). The 1981 Springbok rugby tour | NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Retrieved from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/1981-springbok-tour

Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2012, December 20). Gleneagles Agreement - 1981 Springbok tour | NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Retrieved from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/1981-springbok-tour/gleneagles-agreement

Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2012, December 20). Politics and sport - 1981 Springbok tour | NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Retrieved from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/1981-springbok-tour/politics-and-sport

Ministry for Culture & Heritage (2012, December 20). Tour diary - 1981 Springbok tour | NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Retrieved from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/1981-springbok-tour/tour-diary

Savage, J., & Stone, A. (2011, July 9). The rugby tour that split us into two nations - National - NZ Herald News. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10737275

Wellington City Libraries (n.d.). Springbok Tour 1981 - Timeline and Photos. Retrieved from http://www.wcl.govt.nz/heritage/tour.html