On the 19th of July 1981, the Springbok rugby team was officially welcomed into New Zealand on a Gisborne marae. Despite the heated political and social debate that had occurred in the lead-up to the Tour's commencement, few foresaw the descent of the country's populace into what could only be described as civil war. The anti-tour movement was more determined than ever - they had not managed to stop the tour, but they were committed to making their message completely clear during the Boks' stay.
From the first Tour game, held in Gisborne, it was evident that the nature of the protest was strongly affected by the social and political make-up of the local area. Gisborne is an isolated, provincial city with a generally conservative population where 44% of those surveyed in July 1981 were supportive of the Tour going ahead. The protest movement here, as well as in the other centres, was made up of a great variety of people - young, old, moderate, impassioned, Maori, Pakeha, unionists, pacifists, Christians, the political and those who were simply excited. In Gisborne, the 300 protesters met at the Gisborne Trade Union headquarters, emphasising the role of unions and the labour movement in the demands for equality and in improving the strength of the common person's voice. From the Trade Union headquarters, the movement headed for a golf course behind the match venue. As they tore down a fence that bordered the grounds, rugby fans retaliated violently and the police began to push the protesters back with batons. Clashes between rugby fans and anti-Tour protesters became a prominent feature of the 1981 protests, and illustrated how deeply New Zealand society had been divided. Manukau City Councillor Murray McDowell, who was present at the Gisborne protests, recalls:
I remember, Dave Tolich detached himself from the main group and presented himself at the unguarded fence thirty metres away with his banner held high. For several minutes up to three hundred rugby fans pelted him with every weaponry at hand - mud, bottles, beer crates, fruit flew at him from all directions. His eyes were bruised and filled with mud, tears were streaming down his swollen cheeks. The police eventually pulled him away from the fence. This was the ultimate, unflinching, passive, committed kind of protest I'd read about, but never seen."
Prior to the next Tour game, held in Hamilton, statements from officials in relation to the protests were generally positive. The Minister of Police, Ben Couch, said that "The demonstrators will rapidly run out of steam." This directly challenged the protest movement, and when combined with assurances that matches would be cancelled if protests gained enough support, incited a strong response from the movement - a response with potential for violence.
Those in Hamilton split into two groups: one that would storm the field, and another that would march outside the grounds. The protesters who occupied Rugby Park stood with linked arms, some carrying crosses as symbols of Christian opposition to apartheid and to the Tour.
These protesters were equal parts jubilant and apprehensive when their actions, along with the threat of a possible attack on the field from the air by pilot Pat McQuarrie, resulted in the Hamilton game being called off. The anger amongst rugby fans was palpable and in the next few hours, violent attacks were made on many of the anti-Tour group - including a serious attack on the protester's ambulance, which was attempting to transport injured demonstrators to hospital.
The next main demonstration occurred at Molesworth Street in Wellington on the day that the Springboks played New Plymouth, 29th July 1981. A confrontation between police and protesters outside the Parliament building in Wellington marked a change in police handling of the situation. Some historians argue that police brutality at Molesworth Street was a retaliation for the lawlessness of events in Hamilton, and it is known that after this point the police received greater funding and resources in order to control the spirited masses. At this demonstration, police used batons on protesters for the first time, resulting in a number of injuries and the beginning of anger towards the police among the protest movement. While most protesters disliked the use of violence during the Tour, it was observed that some of those involved in the demonstrations seemed to have turned up simply for a reason to 'have a go' at the police.
In Invercargill, a conservative Deep South town, police lay barbed wire between the spectators and the rugby grounds at the game for the first time. The heaviest policing thus far in the Tour was experienced in the Deep South, with police outnumbering dissenters in both Invercargill and Dunedin. The ominous presence of the law enforcement led many to resent state control over the tour.
In Christchurch, a strong anti-apartheid movement had made itself known over the six months before the Tour began. Riot police prepared for strong opposition, leading some anti-Tour protesters to claim that New Zealand policing was becoming 'more and more like that of South Africa'. The march on the day was met with line after line of riot squads, each in turn being an event which polarised the moderates among the protesters as they reached the front line. Christian dissenters made themselves known at the Christchurch demonstrations, reading Gospel passages with pacifist messages through loudhailers.
In Wellington, the demonstrations were renowned for their discipline and organisational ability that kept police resources stretched to their limit. Around 7000 protesters were present on game day in the capital city, with groups utilising transport disruption as a method of protest. Again batons were used on protesters and there were further skirmishes between fans attempting to access Athletic Park and the demonstrators blocking their paths.
From this point onwards, the protest movement fully understood the 'open cheque' policy that the government had presented the police force with, which included financial and logistical support as well as material from the Army. More disciplined protest tactics were used, and naturally violence became a more prominent feature of demonstrations. At the time, the police forces attempted to mask their own brutality by claiming that protesters had smeared pig's blood on themselves. The final test in Auckland was seen by many as the climax of a series of major protests, and there was a sense of apprehension in New Zealand's biggest city on September 12th 1981. New tactics of blocking main roads and walkways leading to the rugby grounds were utilised at the final test, resulting in traffic on the Auckland Harbor Bridge being brought to a halt. Marx Jones, an anti-Tour pilot, described the scene around Eden Park leading up to the game as like "a battlefield". Some protesters in the grounds threw smoke bombs and flares on the field during the beginning of the game, stopping it for two minutes. On Marlborough Street, just outside the grounds, the Red Squad cracked down on a battalion of protesters, causing some of the worst injuries of the Tour to date - some involving hospitalisation and intensive care. Overall, the massive injury list of demonstrators all around the country, compared with the few police and no pro-tour people hurt is proof of where the violence stemmed from.
That day in Auckland was also the scene of the notorious clown incident, where peaceful student protesters dressed in costume were attacked mercilessly by three baton-wielding policeman, leaving one woman unconscious after receiving a near-paralytic blow to the neck and another man with ruptured eardrums and requiring twelve stitches.
Protesters overturn a police vehicle in Auckland.
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The Tour finally came to an end after the final test was played out in Auckland on September 12th. The All Blacks won the series, but New Zealand as a society lost the battle for civil obedience and felt fresh issues around racism and violence being brought to it's surface. The repercussions of the events of the winter of 1981 would be felt by New Zealanders and the international community for years after the departure of the polarising Boks.