SIGNIFICANCE TO NEW ZEALANDERS
SOCIAL A short-term effect of the 1981 Springbok Tour on New Zealand society was the increasingly evident division in opinions and values between New Zealanders from different backgrounds. The violent clashes between anti-Tour protesters and pro-Tour rugby fans were evidence of a growing rift between the educated, urban middle class and the rural communities living in the provinces. The former were becoming more aware of international issues and the role of the regular citizen in influencing governmental decisions, while the latter were more concerned with their own individual passion for rugby. Receiving a university education and having the means to access international media through technological advances allowed urban, middle-class New Zealanders to form strong opinions on issues that would otherwise be considered 'none of their business.'
This divide, and the social disruption that occurred because of it, brought to light issues of which our society often refused to acknowledge - that of racism, discrimination and dissent. It could have been argued at the time that the pro-Tour movement had the most success: the Tour went ahead, Apartheid remained a force of bigotry in South Africa, and the rural population kept National in Government for another four years. But these immediate gains were offset by a wider theme of social change that was not completely visible until time had passed. New Zealanders had seen what they were capable of causing, and people were far more prepared to stand up for what they believed in.
This newfound spirit of activism became a driving force in a number of major changes that occurred after the Tour ended. The protest culture persisted through anti-nuclear demonstrations and homosexual law reform campaigns, with more and more Kiwis accepting the opposing views of others and the need to voice these ideas in order to bring about change. Another extremely important effect that the Tour had on New Zealanders was that it drew attention to racism within our society, and it highlighted the need to address issues of prejudice and injustice that had occurred during the colonisation of our country. This challenged the perception of many Pakeha New Zealanders who believed that their country was free of discrimination, mostly due to the fact that they were unaware of the plight of thAfter 1981 came the emergence of more militant Maori activists who saw similarities between the racial discrimination, the lack of land and the poor cultural respect shown to the blacks in South Africa and that of their own people in New Zealand. Protester Ray Ahipene-Mercer felt a personal connection to the Tour opposition, having experienced racism both as a rugby-playing schoolboy in Upper Hutt and as an adult involved in his own Maori community. He "came back to this country [New Zealand] in 1981, having been a musician and guitar-maker in London. Some of my Maori musician friends were unable to get off in South African ports. I was infected by this sense of injustice." Many Maori were frustrated at the failure of a number of successive governments to act on and honour the Treaty of Waitangi, and during the 1980s and 1990s urban Maori became the face of a new wave of Maori nationalism. In 1983, film-maker Merata Mita (who directed and produced the documentary Patu! on the Springbok Tour) described the experience of Tour groups: "Pakeha groups up and down the country, who were concerned about the Springbok Tour, came out of it looking at the issue of domestic racism." This newfound power and social understanding led to a redress of historical grievances through such organisations as the Waitangi Tribunal.
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POLITICAL The 1981 Springbok Tour, despite the lamentations of the pro-Tour movement and the assurances of the Government, was an intensely political endeavour right from the outset. While consistently claiming that politics had no place in sport, it can be inferred from events that Muldoon used the Tour to his own advantage in terms of keeping his Party in power.
There is little doubt that Muldoon entered into discussion around the possibility of a Tour knowing exactly that allowing South African teams to have sporting contact with New Zealand would put his Government in an ideal position to garner decisive support from the provincial areas. Evidence of this is seen in the fact that the Tour itself was a long one, with many fixtures in small towns that were part of marginal electorates (those which could go either way in the next General Election). The most important short-term political effect of the Tour was the result of the November 1981 General Election. Prior to the commencement of the Springbok Tour, a very close outcome was predicted - but when it came to the crunch, Muldoon's strategic harnessing of rural support worked to his advantage and National held onto power, albeit at a huge social expense. Without the support of the marginal provinces, Muldoon may have not been re-elected. This initial support did wear off as the more long-lasting social change expressed itself in a greater sense of respect for civil and human rights - resulting in a landslide Labour victory in 1984. David Lange's government went on to legalise homosexuality and introduce nuclear-free legislation, further evidence of new changes in public opinion. Fifteen years later, at a State Banquet in Cape Town, Muldoon's successor and former member of his cabinet Jim Bolger admitted: “The tour was a mistake. In the final analysis, New Zealanders came to a more mature appreciation that we could not isolate ourselves – not pursue our domestic preoccupations- as if we were divorced from a broader responsibility to promote racial equality and good governance elsewhere.” Muldoon's efforts at keeping politics out of sport worked out for him initially but have failed to show him in a positive light in the long run. Many New Zealanders today are ashamed that the Tour went ahead in the first place, as it was organised in blatant disregard to international agreements and to the ethical issues of supporting Apartheid-era, racially segregated sport.
A further political consequence was the change in public opinion in regards to the role of law enforcement in New Zealand. The violent actions of officers during the Tour led to a distrust and dislike of police control amongst the middle class especially. The Tour incited an expression of state power and violence that hadn't been seen at all since the Depression riots or the waterfront strikes of the 50s, and yet the 1981 Tour was far more extensively observed than any previous demonstrations. Ross Meurant, second-in-command of the notorious Red Squad, agreed in 2011 that the Squad was disparaged by the media and the anti-protest movement, but he also stated that: Personally, I believe [Prime Minister Sir Rob] Muldoon unashamedly used the police in a cynical political initiative of dividing the nation over rugby to gain a marginal win at the polls on the support of conservative, rugby loving provincial electorates." Very few New Zealanders had no opinion on the Tour, reflected in a nationwide poll conducted in July 1981 by the New Zealand Herald which found that only 9% were unsure of whether or not the Tour should go ahead. Therefore it can be said that the 1981 Springbok Tour impacted on the lives of many people, as anyone with an opinion on the righteousness of the Tour would have felt the consequences, and most likely it would have affected their political views in the years to come.
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ECONOMIC The economic impact of the Tour was undoubtedly less widely felt by the New Zealand public but it was apparent nonetheless. The Tour came at a great cost to the Government and to the anti-Tour demonstrators and their related groups. At the Tour's end, the major coalitions published their accounts on income and expenditure, which stated the total income of the four main groups at $134,413 and the total expenditure at $127,108. In this case, the generous donations of supportive New Zealanders had allowed for the coalitions to operate without a financial toll (although they undoubtedly suffered in many other ways).
The New Zealand Government, however, spent $7.2 million on the policing of the tour, which in turn resulted in just under 2000 arrests. Most of these arrests were made under the category of 'Obstruction of roads or footpaths', trespass, or 'breaching the peace'. The largest number of arrests made was in Christchurch, where 646 individuals had charges laid against them - although many of these were later struck out, dismissed or withdrawn. A similar theme was followed when it came to complaints about police, and only a small portion of cases ever reached the courts. Protesters submitted over 300 complaints in relation to police behaviour - mostly for excessive violence - and the police investigated these internally. Eventually they found that 211 of the complaints were unjustified.
There were other effects in addition to the political, social and economic consequences. For one, the Rugby Union may have succeeded in bringing the All Blacks' longstanding rivals to the country, but the negative perceptions of the tour dented the image of rugby union in New Zealand for many years after. The anger and bitterness of those involved was not immediately relieved at the Tour's end, and the game itself declined in popularity during the early 1980s. As a result, participation and support for other sporting codes such as league, cricket, soccer and netball increased among the general public. The fact that such an event could turn New Zealanders away from their national sport, the ultimate game of patriotism and passion, is testament to the depth of the emotional significance of the Tour. The anti-Tour movement did have some success with restricting sporting contact with South Africa, as the Springboks and All Blacks never played each other again (officially) until the dismantling of the Apartheid regime in the 1990s. In 1984 a proposed All Blacks tour to South Africa was cancelled without strong opposition. The reluctance of succeeding Governments to become involved with politicised sporting events showed the deep impact of the Tour - very few would have been happy to see such events play out again in New Zealand, regardless of who or what they supported.
The effects on New Zealand were a part of a wider, international ripple effect that resulted from the 1981 Springbok Tour. Click below to read more. |