THE BASICS:
PROTEST ACTIONS
- Broken glass on field (Gisbourne) - Pitch invasion (Hamilton) - Flour bombs and flares thrown onto field (Auckland) - Throwing rocks at police - Disobeying police - Protest marches |
OPPOSITION TO PROTEST
- Throwing of bottles and cans at protestors (Hamilton) - Throwing full beer bottles and blocks of cement at protestors (Christchurch) - Use of short batons to make protestors obey police - Use of long batons to force protestors away from police |
The protest began right from the arrival of the Springboks to New Zealand, with demonstrators showing up at the airport and greeting the South Africans with their first taste of New Zealand conflict. Despite all the pre-tour speculation and debate, very few New Zealanders had realized how their country was about to move into a state of near civil war.
The Springboks were officially welcomed to New Zealand on the Poho-o-Rawhiri marae in Gisborne on the 19th of July, ironic because of the apartheid policies that shaped the South African state.
The first game the Springboks played was against Poverty Bay in Gisborne on the 22nd of July, and it was the protest in which both sides, pro-tour and anti-tour, confronted each other in person for the first time. The Springboks may have won the game, but the true action was taking place in and around the venue. This pattern continued for the entire tour.
Mereana Pitman was a Maori protestor at the Gisborne game, and took part in sprinkling broken glass around the field before the game. She was an out-of-towner, and was actually one of the main tour protest strategists, one that travelled from game to game and helped organise and take part in protests such as pitch invasions and marches. Later, in an interview with Close Up, she said:
“We were horrified that the first welcome they [the Springboks] would receive was from a marae, from our people, and from the people we were related to, so it was a matter of great shame to us.”
This primary evidence shows that Maori especially were angry and ashamed that New Zealand of all places, one that was supposed to have the best race relations in the world, was in a way condoning apartheid. The irony of welcoming a team from an apartheid country onto a marae is huge, and many Maori were unhappy with this decision, as demonstrated by Mareana Pitman.
The 25th of July was the scheduled match against Waikato, which was eventually called off in front of a full house at Rugby Park. About 350 protestors had invaded the pitch in Hamilton, and linked arms to form a solid block to make a stand against police. Police formed a cordon around the group and had arrested 50 protestors over the course of an hour, but when the rugby crowd began to throw objects such as bottles and cans at the protestors, and rumours spread of a plane having being stolen from Taupo and turned toward Hamilton the police realized that they could not control the crowd, and cancelled the game for security reasons.
This decision was met with howls of derision and chants of “We want rugby!” When spectators started to attack protestors, the anti-tour supporters were escorted off the field by police. Spectators were usually older, conservative, generally rural New Zealanders who believed that sport was sport – no amount of politics should be involved in their rugby. For this reason, the pro-tour supporters were probably some of the greatest opposition to protestors, as it meant that it wasn’t just New Zealanders fighting the government or the Rugby Union – it was New Zealanders fighting themselves.
While the Springboks were busy playing Taranaki in New Plymouth on the 29th July, Molesworth Street in Wellington was the place where nearly 2000 anti-tour protestors gathered near Parliament grounds intending to march up Molesworth Street towards the home of South Africa’s consul to New Zealand. Police had established a position on Molesworth Street, and told protestors they were to go no further. Nonetheless, protestors began marching and were stopped by police using short batons. This caused many of the protestors to be hurt, and covered in blood, and a group moved back into the city to the police station to lay assault charges.
This was the first time batons had been used on citizens of New Zealand by police, and many were shocked at the turn the protest reactions had taken. Critics argued that Molesworth Street was about police reasserting their authority after the cancelled Hamilton game, but police maintained that the batons were used as a last resort. The use of batons continued throughout the tour protests, albeit with longer batons which could be thrust at protestors to force them back.
Throughout the period of the three tests against the All Blacks in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland there was much protest around the venues and the rest of New Zealand.
7000 protestors gather in Wellington for the second test on the 29th of August. Groups blocked the motorway exits into the city as well as road and pedestrian access to the venue, which meant police had to get involved and push spectators through. Many protestors were dragged away, and batons were used on protestors again, as well as fist fighting.
Outside Eden Park in Auckland on the 12th of September, ‘all hell broke loose.’ Protestors threw rocks at police, fought with both police and tour supporters on the streets. Marx Jones and Grant Cole hired a plane and dropped flour bombs and flares in an attempt to halt the game. All Black Gary Knight got hit by a flour bomb and was carried off the field, but the game continued.
The Springboks were officially welcomed to New Zealand on the Poho-o-Rawhiri marae in Gisborne on the 19th of July, ironic because of the apartheid policies that shaped the South African state.
The first game the Springboks played was against Poverty Bay in Gisborne on the 22nd of July, and it was the protest in which both sides, pro-tour and anti-tour, confronted each other in person for the first time. The Springboks may have won the game, but the true action was taking place in and around the venue. This pattern continued for the entire tour.
Mereana Pitman was a Maori protestor at the Gisborne game, and took part in sprinkling broken glass around the field before the game. She was an out-of-towner, and was actually one of the main tour protest strategists, one that travelled from game to game and helped organise and take part in protests such as pitch invasions and marches. Later, in an interview with Close Up, she said:
“We were horrified that the first welcome they [the Springboks] would receive was from a marae, from our people, and from the people we were related to, so it was a matter of great shame to us.”
This primary evidence shows that Maori especially were angry and ashamed that New Zealand of all places, one that was supposed to have the best race relations in the world, was in a way condoning apartheid. The irony of welcoming a team from an apartheid country onto a marae is huge, and many Maori were unhappy with this decision, as demonstrated by Mareana Pitman.
The 25th of July was the scheduled match against Waikato, which was eventually called off in front of a full house at Rugby Park. About 350 protestors had invaded the pitch in Hamilton, and linked arms to form a solid block to make a stand against police. Police formed a cordon around the group and had arrested 50 protestors over the course of an hour, but when the rugby crowd began to throw objects such as bottles and cans at the protestors, and rumours spread of a plane having being stolen from Taupo and turned toward Hamilton the police realized that they could not control the crowd, and cancelled the game for security reasons.
This decision was met with howls of derision and chants of “We want rugby!” When spectators started to attack protestors, the anti-tour supporters were escorted off the field by police. Spectators were usually older, conservative, generally rural New Zealanders who believed that sport was sport – no amount of politics should be involved in their rugby. For this reason, the pro-tour supporters were probably some of the greatest opposition to protestors, as it meant that it wasn’t just New Zealanders fighting the government or the Rugby Union – it was New Zealanders fighting themselves.
While the Springboks were busy playing Taranaki in New Plymouth on the 29th July, Molesworth Street in Wellington was the place where nearly 2000 anti-tour protestors gathered near Parliament grounds intending to march up Molesworth Street towards the home of South Africa’s consul to New Zealand. Police had established a position on Molesworth Street, and told protestors they were to go no further. Nonetheless, protestors began marching and were stopped by police using short batons. This caused many of the protestors to be hurt, and covered in blood, and a group moved back into the city to the police station to lay assault charges.
This was the first time batons had been used on citizens of New Zealand by police, and many were shocked at the turn the protest reactions had taken. Critics argued that Molesworth Street was about police reasserting their authority after the cancelled Hamilton game, but police maintained that the batons were used as a last resort. The use of batons continued throughout the tour protests, albeit with longer batons which could be thrust at protestors to force them back.
Throughout the period of the three tests against the All Blacks in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland there was much protest around the venues and the rest of New Zealand.
7000 protestors gather in Wellington for the second test on the 29th of August. Groups blocked the motorway exits into the city as well as road and pedestrian access to the venue, which meant police had to get involved and push spectators through. Many protestors were dragged away, and batons were used on protestors again, as well as fist fighting.
Outside Eden Park in Auckland on the 12th of September, ‘all hell broke loose.’ Protestors threw rocks at police, fought with both police and tour supporters on the streets. Marx Jones and Grant Cole hired a plane and dropped flour bombs and flares in an attempt to halt the game. All Black Gary Knight got hit by a flour bomb and was carried off the field, but the game continued.