Ray Harper was a rugby administrator and national councillor on the New Zealand Rugby Union during the 1981 Springbok tour: "The tour split families; it split friends. The magnitude of the protests against the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand had various causes, which stemmed back to apartheid in South Africa. The 1981 South African rugby tour polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand. A wide range of social, political and economic consequences have come about as a result of the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand. The Springbok tour protests had a huge affect on New Zealand society. Amid astounding growth, Amazon throws workers a bone. Muldoon’s belief was that politics should not interfere with sport and encouraged the arrival of the Springbok national rugby team of the apartheid period. hosting the Commonwealth Games Dolph Lundgren recalls putting Stallone in the hospital. The issue exploded in 1981 when the Springboks toured New Zealand. Politics and government The protests caused a social divide within the population. Although HART committed itself to non-violent disruption, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon condemned the organisation for having ‘spread lies about New Zealand’ overseas. After much arguing the Springbok team arrive in New Zealand at the Auckland airport on the 19th of July, which provoked excitement from the pro-tour supporters and the anti-tour protesters to prepare for the conflicts and violence that had yet to come. For 56 days in July, August and September 1981, New Zealanders were divided against each other in the largest civil disturbance seen since the 1951 waterfront dispute. The National government had a policy of ‘bridge-building’, which maintained contact with South Africa. On the 22nd of July, the Springboks played there first match against Poverty Bay in Gisborne. Rugby … The public, however, increasingly felt that stronger action was needed. For 56 days the country was bitterly, even violently divided. In the 1981 general election National held on to power because it won provincial seats that might have fallen, such as Gisborne and Whangarei. There is considerable history behind these matches, much of it off the field. Effect ON New Zealand Society. In 1984 the Muldoon government was swept away in a Labour landslide after public opinion changed after the Springbok Tour. Strong-arm policing resulted in many injuries, but only two matches were cancelled. Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in February 1990 and inaugurated as president of South Africa on 10 May 1994 after the republic’s first fully democratic elections. The Springbok tour protests had a huge affect on New Zealand society. In 1973 a proposed Springbok (South African rugby team) tour of New Zealand was cancelled. The police spent an estimated $15 million on 'Operation Rugby'. As the 1981 Springbok Tour and the ... As said by John Minto “I think the most important impact of the tour in New Zealand was to stimulate the whole debate about racism and about the place of Maori in our community” (6) which sums up exactly what happened. Jock Phillips argues it was only a short step to extend this role by becoming the nuclear-free example. The conflict within New Zealand over sporting contacts with apartheid South Africa reached a peak in the protests against the 1981 Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand. Today marks the 30th anniversary of the first match of the 1981 Springbok tour to New Zealand - a tour that in less than two months divided this country down the middle. Page 8 – Impact. Throughout these 56 days we see how significant the affect was on New Zealanders, we see the dark side of New Zealand's history but we also see how much opportunity the tour has provided for the nation. Support for the Springbok tour was particularly strong in rural and small-town New Zealand. The Springbok Tour protests represented the collision of traditional New Zealand rugby culture with a strengthening culture of concern for social and human rights issues. This was proven when 30 countries boycotted the Montreal Olympic Games because New Zealand had attended it. By all accounts it is shaping up to be a non-event in New Zealand with less than a third of those polled taking an active interest in the event despite rugby being the national sport of New Zealand. To find magazine titles of interest, have a read of the article below: Story — Magazines and periodicals in New Zealand . The Silent Revolution: The 1981 Springbok Tour Details Miles Lacey 10 September 2011 From 9 th September to 23 rd October, 2011, New Zealand will be the host to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. ... New Zealand did not want South Africa to come to New Zealand because they did not want to play against black people. As the minister responsible for policing the tour, Couch took his responsibilities very seriously and believed the police were morally obliged to ensure that the games went ahead. 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 nations perspective changed after the tour, with more people supporting the Maori claims the government had no other choice but the respond to them. In 1984 the Muldoon government was swept away in a Labour landslide. Apartheid had made South Africa an international pariah, and other countries were strongly discouraged from having sporting contacts with it. From Montreal to Gleneagles. Ben Couch, the minister of police in 1981, had been an All Black, and as a Māori, his own rugby career had been affected by apartheid policies. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. 1981 Springbok tour ... Their actions might affect not only their own activities but the harmonious development on Commonwealth sport. Dolph Lundgren recalls putting Stallone in the hospital. It is 30 years since the 1981 Springboks flew into New Zealand. The issue of sport and politics not mixing had been central to the pro-tour argument. The educated middle class was critical to the anti-tour movement. The new government 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. It is 25 years this month since the Springbok team arrived here … In the Taranaki dairy town of Eltham, 50 protesters were showered with eggs and bottles as they marched up the street one Friday night. Despite the Gleneagles Agreement, the Muldoon government refused to stop the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand, in order to seem as if they were supporting the agreement the government merely informed rugby officials that it disapproved. In 1976 the South African government relented and allowed a mixed-race All Black team to tour South Africa. Here police and protesters confront one another at Palmerson North on 1 August 1981, when South Africa played Manawatū. 1981 Springbok tour: Background; Effects on New Zealand. A short term effect was that it caused a divide between the country with immense disturbances to daily life. The All Blacks accepted an invitation to tour South Africa in 1976, when world attention was fixed on the republic because of the Soweto riots. 1905, Special votes cast in general election, Home Sport People's lives were deeply effected by the 1981 Springbok Tour. What effect did the Natives’ tour have on rugby and on wider New Zealand society? Reflecting on the tour in 2006, he believed it was important to 'get them [the Springboks] over here' and show them a multiracial society living in relative harmony. Select itinerary of the 1981 tour by the Springbok rugby team. Friendships and family relationships were harmed due to different perspectives on the tour. They allowed sporting contact, such as a Springbok tour of New Zealand in 1976. Friendships and family relationships were harmed due to different perspectives on the tour. 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