The Springboks and New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks, have a long tradition of intense and friendly sporting rivalry. In South Africa before 1948 the white minority enjoyed a privileged position, reinforced by a number of laws and practices that ensured there was extensive segregation of the races. When Daniel Malan’s Nationalist Party came to power that year, this separation was intensified with a policy known as ‘apartheid’ that aimed to strictly divide the races. From the 1940s to the 1960s, the South African apartheid had an impact on team selection for the All Blacks: the selectors passed over Māori players for some All Black tours to South Africa. Opposition to sending race-based teams to South Africa grew throughout the 1950s and 60s. Prior to the All Blacks' tour of South Africa in 1960, 150,000 New Zealanders signed a petition supporting a policy of "No Maoris, No Tour". The tour still happened, and in 1969 Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was formed. In 1968 the United Nations called for a sporting boycott as one way of putting pressure on the South African government. As rugby and cricket were the two main sports for white South Africans, the spotlight was bound to fall on New Zealand. In 1976 the All Blacks toured South Africa with the blessing of the newly elected New Zealand Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon. Twenty-five African nations protested against this by boycotting the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In their view the All Black tour gave tacit support to the apartheid regime in South Africa. The 1976 tour contributed to the creation of the Gleneagles Agreement which strongly discouraged nations from continuing any sporting contact with South Africa and their apartheid regime. However, despite the Gleneagles agreement Prime Minister Robert Muldoon made it clear held strong to his opinion that sports and politics should not mix. Because of this, the NZRFU gave South Africa the green light to tour New Zealand in 1981. This was a very controversial decision and the nation was divided between those who agreed with the tour and were for it and those who very much opposed it. The Springboks arrived on July 19, 1981. Though they were officially welcomed by the New Zealand government, there was a sense of dread and anticipation that surrounded their arrival – perhaps, some thought, the 1981 tour should have been cancelled like the tour in 1972 was. The government officials could not anticipate, however, that the country was about to fall into “near-civil war.” In response to HART, pro-rugby groups like Stop Politics in Rugby (SPIR) organized in an effort to help the Springbok’s tour succeed. Both sides tended to be easily identified by armbands that made their affiliation clear. In particular, HART activists wore their armbands for the entire length of the tour, subjecting themselves to constant ridicule and the threat of violence, despite their commitment to nonviolent protest only.
Key Contributing Factors
Apartheid
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa which was enforced through legislation by the National Party Government from 1948 to 1994. The system saw the blacks in South Africa separated from the White or Afrikaner people who were upper class and ruled this society. Almost everything was segregated. The blacks were commonly not allowed to be in the same area or use the same facilities as the white people and were treated extremely poorly as second class citizens. Apartheid as an officially structured policy was introduced following the general election of 1948. Legislation classified inhabitants into four racial groups, "black", "white", "coloured", and "Indian", with Indian and coloured divided into several sub-classifications, and residential areas were segregated. The system was extremely corrupt as the different racial groups were treated with different levels of respect depending on their skin colour or ethnicity. The world began to take notice. South Africa under apartheid was subject to a number of international boycotts which often included sporting contact. For example The International Olympic committee (IOC) withdrew its invitation to South Africa to the 1964 Olympics when interior minister Jan De Klerk insisted the team would not be racially integrated. This same ideology was adopted internationally and it ultimately led to the Gleneagles Agreement. Apartheid South Africa's last foreign tour was to New Zealand in 1981. As already has been stated the tour was filled with controversy and ultimately it was the result of this apartheid regime. The tour, ended sporting contact with Apartheid South Africa and planted the seed in the minds of all South Africans the Apartheid should be abolished.
The Gleneagles Agreement
A key contributing factor to the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand and the protests that occurred was the Gleneagles Agreement. The Gleneagles Agreement was a pact between the Commonwealth nations to discourage sporting contact with South Africa due to their racial policy of apartheid. The Gleneagles Agreement, which was signed in 1977, reinforced their commitment, embodied in the , to oppose racism. However, regardless of this agreement, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon didn’t prevent the 1981 Springbok Tour from occurring. This went against the agreement and ultimately sparked the nation in to protest with societies split. This decision also shone a bad light on New Zealand internationally as we were seen as enabling racism through allowing sporting contact with South Africa.
The counterculture movement of the 1960s
The Counterculture movement of the 1960s refers to an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed first in the USA and UK and spread throughout much of the Western world including to New Zealand between the early 1960s and the early 1970s. The Counterculture was driven by the baby boom that occurred after World War Two. During this time many college‐age men and women became political activists and were the driving force behind the civil rights and antiwar movements. Other young people simply separated themselves from mainstream culture through their appearance and lifestyle. Political ideas began to take root and people became radical in attitude, not afraid to protest to get what they believed was right. This counterculture ultimately contributed to the way those people acted and protested in 1981, infact, without the counterculture movement of the 1960’s, New Zealand would not be like it is today.
Key Ideas The South African Apartheid regime had spread to all aspects of South Africa, including its sporting teams. This didnt sit well internationally and as a result sporting contact with South Africa was boycotted and the Gleneagles Agreement was set up, discouraging sporting contact with that nation. The radicalised counterculture movement gave society the confidence to voice their opinions and when Prime Minister Robert Muldoon went against the Gleneagles Agreement and allowed South Africa to tour New Zealand in 1981 they were given the oportunity to make their voices heard. Muldoon allowing this tour gave the polarised New Zealand society the ability to protest for what they believed was right and the 1981 Springbok Tour was the result of this.