different opinions
The protests were obviously opposed by the Government as the people of New Zealand rebelling against a decision they had made is never going to make any kind of leadership look good. However not much could be done by the Government in terms of prohibiting the peaceful protests without imposing a dictatorial ban on them. Only when protests became violent could the police oppose and intervene as decribed in the police profile on the "Who Was Involved?" page. SPIR (Society For The Protection Of Individual Rights) was one organisation that actively put forward an alternative view to that of the anti-tour movement. Men such as Ces Blazey, the NZRFU chairman, and Ron Don, the chairman of the Auckland Rugby Union and an NZRFU councillor, became well known people. Their exposure in the media made them spearheads of the pro-tour movement.
One of the most important groups that opposed the Anti-Tour protests was the rugby supporters themselves. Our nation was divided nearly in half, people who believed sport and politics didn't mix and those who thought it did. This opposition came to blows on larger scales at the scenes of protests such as Hamilton after the game, when protestors met rugby fans and violence broke out. Some protestors fled and hid in houses while frenzied rugby supporters attacked the houses for over half an hour, John Minto was bashed on the head with a bottle, the protestors' ambulance transporting a semi-conscious girl was attacked-rugby supporters yelling "kill the bitch!". Acts of absurd violence happened between protestors at such events showing a clear divide in opinion and opposition to the Anti-Tour Protests.
One of the most important groups that opposed the Anti-Tour protests was the rugby supporters themselves. Our nation was divided nearly in half, people who believed sport and politics didn't mix and those who thought it did. This opposition came to blows on larger scales at the scenes of protests such as Hamilton after the game, when protestors met rugby fans and violence broke out. Some protestors fled and hid in houses while frenzied rugby supporters attacked the houses for over half an hour, John Minto was bashed on the head with a bottle, the protestors' ambulance transporting a semi-conscious girl was attacked-rugby supporters yelling "kill the bitch!". Acts of absurd violence happened between protestors at such events showing a clear divide in opinion and opposition to the Anti-Tour Protests.
Effect on new Zealand society
Something as controversial as the Springbok Tour that involved such large amount of our population undoubtedly had a far reaching effect on New Zealand society. One of the most personal and widespread effects that the protests had on society was the divide opinion and its repercussions. The whole of New Zealand was never in one agreement about the protests, its impact went far beyond the rugby ground as communities and families divided and tensions spilled out onto the streets and into the living rooms of the nation. In the small town of Eltham in Taranaki, 50 protestors were showered on one of their marches by fellow townspeople-in a town with a population 1,500 friends and family were bound to have turned on each other. "Although things had been far from perfect between my parents, the Springbok tour caused such tension and stress that we could not live together in the same house and function as a family unit. As the tour went on and the turmoil increased, the negative feelings intensified to such as degree that feelings of dislike, anger and incomprehension dominated our home." anonymous Wellingtonian The New Zealand Experience : 100 Vignettes, collected by B. Shaw & K. Broadley, 1985. Family and communities were torn apart as a result of the Anti-Springbok tour protests in all areas, showing a a widespread negative impact on much of the population.
‘If you campaign about race in South Africa, what about at home?’ John Minto has recently stated that the tour’s greatest impact on New Zealand society was to stimulate debate about racism and the place of Māori in New Zealand. This was another effect of the protests, it caused New Zealand to re-evaluate our treatment of Maoris and whether we were being the non racist country they were fighting for. It was quick, easy and almost irrefutable for protestors to argue for blacks to “have the same rights as us” – to marry, join a union or drink with others without colour discrimination. But at the 1976 Federation of Labour Conference a Maori timber worker complained: “You say we should be supporting those black guys over there because they get treated like shit. Well, there’s a lot of us over here getting treated like shit and who’s supporting us?” This man had a point, only six years ago Whina Cooper's hikoi in 1975 had taken place to raise the issue of Maori land loss and their grievances. In January 1977 protesters occupied Bastion Point in Auckland after the government announced a housing development on former Ngāti Whātua reserve land. The land had been gradually reduced in size by compulsory acquisition, leaving the Ngāti Whatua ki Ōrakei tribal group holding less than one hectare. Many Maori grievances such as this had not been addressed and Maori and some Pakeha alike questioned who protestors were to condemn another nation when race relations were not perfect in our own country. Although they are not directly linked, the issue of Maori treatment raised because of the protests of 1981 were a contribution factor to the change in 1985, the Waitangi Tribunal now empowered to investigate Treaty claims dating back to 1840. The management of tribal or Māori-owned assets was reorganised as a result. A Māori-language education system was established and iwi launched major economic initiatives including fishing, aquaculture and farming. In 1987 te reo Māori became an official language of New Zealand.
Although the tour was never stopped, and in some ways the pro-tour supporters were successful, the memories of the protests could not be forgotten and what many people in New Zealand stood for, a just society. In 1984 the Muldoon government lost the elections to the Nationa Party. The new government of David Lange adopted a trend with origins that lay in the protests of 1981, looking for a just society just like the protestors of the Anti-Springbok tour protestors, he introduced nuclear-free legislation and enabled homosexual law reform, both of which struck at the core of what might have been described as the values and image of New Zealand society. The long lasting effect of the Anti-Tour protests was one of the need for a just society, not just in South Africa but our own country too and people became more aware of this-the evidence of this can be seen in the later support for Lange's government and the changes they made to create a more equal society in NZ.
‘If you campaign about race in South Africa, what about at home?’ John Minto has recently stated that the tour’s greatest impact on New Zealand society was to stimulate debate about racism and the place of Māori in New Zealand. This was another effect of the protests, it caused New Zealand to re-evaluate our treatment of Maoris and whether we were being the non racist country they were fighting for. It was quick, easy and almost irrefutable for protestors to argue for blacks to “have the same rights as us” – to marry, join a union or drink with others without colour discrimination. But at the 1976 Federation of Labour Conference a Maori timber worker complained: “You say we should be supporting those black guys over there because they get treated like shit. Well, there’s a lot of us over here getting treated like shit and who’s supporting us?” This man had a point, only six years ago Whina Cooper's hikoi in 1975 had taken place to raise the issue of Maori land loss and their grievances. In January 1977 protesters occupied Bastion Point in Auckland after the government announced a housing development on former Ngāti Whātua reserve land. The land had been gradually reduced in size by compulsory acquisition, leaving the Ngāti Whatua ki Ōrakei tribal group holding less than one hectare. Many Maori grievances such as this had not been addressed and Maori and some Pakeha alike questioned who protestors were to condemn another nation when race relations were not perfect in our own country. Although they are not directly linked, the issue of Maori treatment raised because of the protests of 1981 were a contribution factor to the change in 1985, the Waitangi Tribunal now empowered to investigate Treaty claims dating back to 1840. The management of tribal or Māori-owned assets was reorganised as a result. A Māori-language education system was established and iwi launched major economic initiatives including fishing, aquaculture and farming. In 1987 te reo Māori became an official language of New Zealand.
Although the tour was never stopped, and in some ways the pro-tour supporters were successful, the memories of the protests could not be forgotten and what many people in New Zealand stood for, a just society. In 1984 the Muldoon government lost the elections to the Nationa Party. The new government of David Lange adopted a trend with origins that lay in the protests of 1981, looking for a just society just like the protestors of the Anti-Springbok tour protestors, he introduced nuclear-free legislation and enabled homosexual law reform, both of which struck at the core of what might have been described as the values and image of New Zealand society. The long lasting effect of the Anti-Tour protests was one of the need for a just society, not just in South Africa but our own country too and people became more aware of this-the evidence of this can be seen in the later support for Lange's government and the changes they made to create a more equal society in NZ.