CAUSES
A key cause of the 1981 Springbok Tour Protests was the increased opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa, through raised awareness after the Soweto riots in 1976. The Apartheid regime and term ‘apartheid’ in South Africa was introduced in 1948 as a part of Daniel Francois Malan’s election campaign. However, it has been said that racial segregation had been in force for many decades in South Africa. In hindsight, there is something of inevitability in the way the country developed its extreme policies.
Apartheid is a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party Government resulting in the majority of Blacks in South Africa being deprived of basic human rights and restricted greatly in all areas of life with a great lack of political rights, whilst whites were living in a time of ‘white supremacy’. Consequences for those non-whites protesting were severe, including in thousands of individuals dying in custody from frequent acts of torture from white suppressors. The Soweto uprising, otherwise known as 'June 16' was a result of such terrible acts against non-whites, and became one of the most violent protests yet. It resulted in a confirmed 176 deaths however an estimate of up to 700 deaths. This huge uprising, involving between 10,000 and 20,000 black students, raised a great awareness all over the world, including in New Zealand, towards the way 'Blacks' and 'Whites' were being treated in society. The increased opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa, including the Soweto Riots, resulted in the 1981 counter-culture that meant many New Zealanders were anti-apartheid and therefore against the 1981 Springbok Tour going forth. Examples of protest against apartheid in South Africa |
Typical 'whites only' sign commonly used in the time of apartheid in South Africa; greatly showing white supremacy
The Apartheid policy was highly effective in achieving its goal of preferential treatment for whites, as shown in the diagram below
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The cancellation of the 1973 Springbok Tour was another cause for the great fury that built up among New Zealanders against the 1981 Springbok Tour and therefore resulted in the 1981 Springbok Tour contested event taking place. Coming up to the 1972 election, the labour opposition leader Norman Kirk, promised not to interfere with the tour. In winning the election, he attempted to persuade the NZRFU to withdraw its invitation to the Springboks, while at the same time trying to negotiate with a number of anti-tour groups and activists. Police at the time told Norman that if the tour were to go ahead, it would ‘engender the greatest eruption of violence this country has ever known.’ The decision to postpone the Springbok Tour was also influenced by the fact that Christchurch was hosting the 1974 Commonwealth Games and a boycott by black African nations of these games was likely should the tour proceed.
Kirk conceded that he would be ‘failing in his duty’ if he didn't ‘accept the criticism and do what [he] believed to be right and therefore the tour was postponed. This resulted in a loss of popularity, especially from those who strongly believed that 'politics and sport don't mix', This loss of popularity was shown in the 1975 election, mostly as a result of Labour failing to follow through with their initial statement not to interfere with the tour. National Party's new leader Robert Muldoon believed that the cancellation of the tour was 'one issue on which people will change their vote' and therefore he maintained that a National Government would welcome a Springbok team to New Zealand, 'even if there were threats of violence and civil strife’. The effects of this statement were later shown in National's landslide victory. |
KEY PERSON: Prime Minister Norman Kirk (1972-1974)
Norman Kirk was the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. He led the Parliamentary wing of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1974. He was the fourth Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, but the first to be born in New Zealand. Kirk had a reputation as the most formidable debater of his time. |
A result of the 1976 Springbok Tour was the boycott of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics. Prior to the boycott of the Olympics, African Nations had demanded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) exclude New Zealand from the games, however the IOC found no justification in banning the country and therefore New Zealand athletes went ahead to compete as planned. 25 African countries then chose to withdrawal from the 1976 Olympics, in protest against New Zealand's sporting links with South Africa. Egypt subsequently withdrew, leaving the final number of absences at 33. The boycott meant that over 300 competitors were no longer taking part in the games, leaving many events cancelled or re-scheduled and resulting in a million Canadian dollars lost in the first two days of the boycott. This further effected New Zealand's international reputation and formed a great desire in the hearts of thousands of New Zealanders to stop the 1981 Springbok Tour when it arose.
The term 'honorary whites' was used throughout the 1970 Springbok Tour, as a 'compromise' made towards Maori and Pacific Island players to be allowed to play in the NZ Rugby team. The use of this term 'honorary whites' became a final cause of the 1981 Springbok Tour Protests for it further fueled the desire in anti-tour protestors' hearts to gain complete equality (especially for Maori and Pacific Islanders). Despite this meaning Maori were allowed to play, it further angered anti-tour protestors, for they believed the Maori should have been allowed to compete as their own race, not as something they are not. The Maori Women's Welfare League also opposed the tour.
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KEY PHRASE: 'Honorary Whites' Honorary whites is a term that was used by the apartheid regime of South Africa to grant almost all of the rights and privileges of whites to certain favoured non-white groups. |
This cartoon was produced a month after the boycott of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics. "The five Olympic rings have become the high walls of five separate stadiums, labelled 'America', 'Pacific', 'Africa', 'China' and 'Europe'. The cartoon posed the question of whether political disputes would destroy the internationalism of the Games' ideals − a genuine fear at the time, and one that appeared to be confirmed by events in Moscow (1980) and Los Angeles (1984)"
CONSEQUENCES OF THE TOUR