Causes of the protesting
One social and political cause of the 1981 Springbok tour was the Soweto Uprising 1976. Issues that South Africa faced as a part of their Apartheid regime received heightened amounts of publicity in 1976. The Soweto Uprising on June 16th 1976 opened the world's eyes to the realities of the social condition in South Africa. The uprising in Soweto, a small urban area in the city of Johannesburg, started when the language of Afrikaans alongside English was made compulsory as the primary language in schools in 1974. The native Africans saw this as a tactic used by the government to split the them from their culture and turn to a European style of living. The students, influenced by various political organisations such as, the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) and the South African Students Organisation (SASO), began to mobilize themselves against the treatment they were experiencing. On 16 June 1976 between 3000 and 10 000 students mobilized by the South African Students Movement's Action Committee supported by the BCM marched peacefully to demonstrate and protest against the government’s action. The march was meant to rally in Orlando Stadium. On their pathway they were met by heavily armed police who fired teargas and later live ammunition on demonstrating students. This resulted in a widespread revolt that turned into an uprising against the government. While the uprising began in Soweto, it spread across the country and carried on until the following year. The riot resulted in 575 civilian deaths and 3 907 people were injured. A further 5 980 were arrested for offences related to the resistance in the townships. The aftermath of the events of June 16 1976 had dire consequences for the Apartheid government. Images of the police firing on peacefully demonstrating students led an international outrage against South Africa as its brutality was exposed.
Another main cause of the protesting that occurred during the 1981 Springbok tour was the cancellation of the 1973 Springbok Tour and the boycott of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics. In the lead up to the 1972 General election,one of the Labour leader, Norman Kirk's, policies was that he would not interfere with any sporting matters. However after the unfolding in South Africa he soon realized that this was a mistake after a Police officer warned that if the tour went ahead it would ‘engender the greatest eruption of violence this country has ever known’ . After winning the election, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade the NZRFU to withdraw its invitation to the Springboks. Kirk tried to balance the two opposing opinions on the tour, both the pro-tour public and the anti-tour activists. Prime Minister Norman Kirk informed the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) that the government saw ‘no alternative’ to a ‘postponement’ of the planned tour by the South African Springboks. The Labour party was later ousted from parliament in the 1975 elections, partly due to their handlings of New Zealand's relations with South Africa. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics New Zealand sparked a boycott. The African nations were angry that a New Zealand All Blacks rugby team was touring apartheid-era South Africa, shortly after the Soweto Uprising in 1976. The Africans wanted New Zealand banned from the Montreal Olympics.Eventually 26 African countries, as well as Iraq and Guyana, boycotted Montreal over New Zealand’s rugby activities. The boycott had a significant effect in athletics, as Africans were among the world's best at middle and long-distance running. Some of the public in New Zealand were disgusted at the government's decision to allow the tour of South Africa to go ahead. It was seen, internationally, as being a morally disgraceful decision and it cast a dark shadow over New Zealand from other countries.
Another political cause of the 1981 Springbok tour protests was the Gleneagles Agreement. Unanimously approved by the Commonwealth of Nations at a meeting at Gleneagles,Scotland, in 1977, the Gleneagles Agreement was created to discourage apartheid by halting all contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organisations, teams or individuals from South Africa. The agreement was further strengthened by the Declaration on Racism and Racial Prejudice which Commonwealth leaders adopted at their meeting in Lusaka in 1979. The Commonwealth nations saw that they had the power to influence most sports, being that the commonwealth had some of the most highest class sportsmen and sportswomen in all sports. Therefore South Africa would not have the ability to play competitive sport on an international scale. However, despite New Zealand coming under the Gleneagles Agreement, Robert Muldoon retained his stance in which Politics should play no interference with sports. So in September 1980, it was announced that the Springboks were to tour New Zealand the following year. There was political concern about ‘how New Zealand is judged in the international arena’. Robert Muldoon said that he could see ‘nothing but trouble coming from this’, but he had to stick to his word that he said in the 1975 election that sports and politics should not mix. Muldoon was focused on the upcoming election and his target voters were the rural New Zealanders. If he was to keep them happy, he must allow the tour to continue. Muldoon, therefore, defended the decision to allow the 1981 Springbok Tour. This decision sparked outrage amoungst New Zealand's public. Future protesting from the onset of the tour and throughout was inevitable.
Another main cause of the protesting that occurred during the 1981 Springbok tour was the cancellation of the 1973 Springbok Tour and the boycott of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics. In the lead up to the 1972 General election,one of the Labour leader, Norman Kirk's, policies was that he would not interfere with any sporting matters. However after the unfolding in South Africa he soon realized that this was a mistake after a Police officer warned that if the tour went ahead it would ‘engender the greatest eruption of violence this country has ever known’ . After winning the election, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade the NZRFU to withdraw its invitation to the Springboks. Kirk tried to balance the two opposing opinions on the tour, both the pro-tour public and the anti-tour activists. Prime Minister Norman Kirk informed the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) that the government saw ‘no alternative’ to a ‘postponement’ of the planned tour by the South African Springboks. The Labour party was later ousted from parliament in the 1975 elections, partly due to their handlings of New Zealand's relations with South Africa. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics New Zealand sparked a boycott. The African nations were angry that a New Zealand All Blacks rugby team was touring apartheid-era South Africa, shortly after the Soweto Uprising in 1976. The Africans wanted New Zealand banned from the Montreal Olympics.Eventually 26 African countries, as well as Iraq and Guyana, boycotted Montreal over New Zealand’s rugby activities. The boycott had a significant effect in athletics, as Africans were among the world's best at middle and long-distance running. Some of the public in New Zealand were disgusted at the government's decision to allow the tour of South Africa to go ahead. It was seen, internationally, as being a morally disgraceful decision and it cast a dark shadow over New Zealand from other countries.
Another political cause of the 1981 Springbok tour protests was the Gleneagles Agreement. Unanimously approved by the Commonwealth of Nations at a meeting at Gleneagles,Scotland, in 1977, the Gleneagles Agreement was created to discourage apartheid by halting all contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organisations, teams or individuals from South Africa. The agreement was further strengthened by the Declaration on Racism and Racial Prejudice which Commonwealth leaders adopted at their meeting in Lusaka in 1979. The Commonwealth nations saw that they had the power to influence most sports, being that the commonwealth had some of the most highest class sportsmen and sportswomen in all sports. Therefore South Africa would not have the ability to play competitive sport on an international scale. However, despite New Zealand coming under the Gleneagles Agreement, Robert Muldoon retained his stance in which Politics should play no interference with sports. So in September 1980, it was announced that the Springboks were to tour New Zealand the following year. There was political concern about ‘how New Zealand is judged in the international arena’. Robert Muldoon said that he could see ‘nothing but trouble coming from this’, but he had to stick to his word that he said in the 1975 election that sports and politics should not mix. Muldoon was focused on the upcoming election and his target voters were the rural New Zealanders. If he was to keep them happy, he must allow the tour to continue. Muldoon, therefore, defended the decision to allow the 1981 Springbok Tour. This decision sparked outrage amoungst New Zealand's public. Future protesting from the onset of the tour and throughout was inevitable.
Key ideas
The protesting surrounding the 1981 Springbok Tour was caused by a list of social and political causes. The underlying problem that cause international problems for New Zealand was due to South Africa being run by an apartheid regime. It is due to the New Zealand government's lack of recognition of this that led to widespread anger among not only the New Zealand public but also countries abroad. HART worked tirelessly to create greater public awareness both nationally and internationally, and were influential in mobilising large groups of people in demonstrations and marches nationwide. The differing views between New Zealand was caused because of New Zealand's laid back attitude. This meant that many people were not bothered with international affairs and would rather do what they loved to do, watch Rugby. It is also common knowledge that people do not like change, especially if change meant that they were to miss out on what they loved to do. This was another main reason why the clashes that occurred were so violent. Tensions from both sides had no doubt been built up over a long time-ever since the postponement of the 1973 tour. Despite calls from the United Nations to boycott all sporting contact with South Africa in 1968 and the signing of the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, both Prime Ministers Norman Kirk and Robert Muldoon could not be persuaded to cancel both tours to South Africa and the South African tour of New Zealand. What ensued was the most polarising and violent clashes New Zealand had seen since the Waterfront strikes of 1951.