EFFECTS OF THE ANTI-SPRINGBOK TOUR MOVEMENT ON SOCIETY
The 1981 Springbok tour became one of the most divisive events in New Zealand history. It's consequences reached far more than just the rugby pitch as it turned families and even entire communities upside down, divided and arguing against each other as tensions and protests spilled out onto the streets across the nation. The effect of the tour on New Zealand society was great, both in the long and short term.
SHORT TERM EFFECTSIMMEDIATE EFFECTS ON THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND'S SOCIETY
The 1981 Springbok Tour Movement turned thousands of families and communities upside down with differences of opinion. It was the cause of major debate, disrupting the lives of everyone up and down the country regardless of if they were actively supporting either the pro-tour or anti-tour argument. For 56 days, it controlled New Zealand. It made the country a considerably more violent place filled with turmoil and quarrel. The anti-tour protests were considerable throughout the whole tour and, while only one game was actually stopped, there is a case to be made that the campaign was a success as no South African team ever toured again until after the dismantling of the apartheid system. With active protesters focused primarily on the single issue of the '81 tour with a predetermined timeframe, the momentum for protest was lost once the Springboks had left the country. Of course it was inevitable that the intensity of activity could not have been sustained without a tangible target, and that exhaustion would take its toll. However, the few months of active protest were enough to invoke considerable changes both in New Zealand and in other countries around the world. EFFECTS ON POLITICS IN NEW ZEALAND AND THE COUNTRY'S DEVELOPMENT AS A WHOLE In the short term, it could be argued that the pro-tour lobby came out on top; the tour went ahead, apartheid remained intact and provincial New Zealand secured the National Party a narrow victory in the November 1981 general election. But these outcomes masked major changes that were just around the corner. In 1984 the Muldoon National government was swept away as Labour took out the election by a landslide. This election of a Labour Government was the beginning of big long term change for New Zealand. |
LONG TERM EFFECTS
LONG TERM EFFECTS ON NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY
The Labour Government, elected in 1984 after the Springbok Tour Movement and the fall of the National Party, 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. These were indirect consequences of the anti-tour movement as direct consequences of the change in government. Playing rugby against South Africa was consistent with New Zealand's traditional identity as a loyal servant of the British Empire. The anti-tour movement had a different vision, they wanted to expel all racism from their society. New Zealand could be seen as an example of an independent, racially tolerant society, a moral exemplar. Jock Phillips argues it was only a short step to extending this role and becoming the nuclear-free example. EFFECTS ON RACISM TOWARDS MAORI After the anti-tour protests highlighting the indefensible racism, New Zealanders were forced to look at how they were treating their own coloured people, the Maori. Reflection upon this slowly changed the ways of the Pakeha, by drawing attention to the desire for equality. John Minto has recently stated that the tour’s greatest impact on New Zealand society was to stimulate debate about racism and the place of Māori in New Zealand. EFFECTS OUTSIDE OF NEW ZEALAND Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in February 1990 and inaugurated as the first democratically elected state president of South Africa on 10 May 1994. The 1981 tour was a small part of a long, gruelling process that led to this significant change in South Africa. In this respect, the tour represented New Zealand's contribution towards a major international event in the closing decades of the 20th century, and an indefinite change in South African society. |
PERSONAL RECOUNTS OF IMMEDIATE EFFECTS ON NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY
'Although things had been far from perfect between my parents, the Springbok tour caused such tension and stress that we could not live together in the same house and function as a family unit. An example of the increase was when we, as a family, watched the evening news. Often one side would raise their voices in abuse and offensive name calling towards public figures. Later the abuse was turned in an indirect way on individual family members. This was done by blaming the chaos and disruption to rugby games in individual family members, their friends and associations. As the tour went on and the turmoil increased, the negative feelings intensified to such as degree that feelings of dislike, anger and incomprehension dominated our home.'
It's Just a Game (Anon), in, The New Zealand Experience : 100 Vignettes, collected by B. Shaw & K. Broadley, 1985.
'New Zealanders had led comfortable and easy lives and, suddenly, here they were with emotions that exploded within them for almost everyone had some feeling about the Springbok tour. In a way, the shock and disbelief expressed by New Zealanders at what had happened stemmed from witnessing a loss of innocence. The country had faced social disruption before but the 1981 tour brought to the surface arguments of which New Zealand society assumed it was free - racism and bigotry. If anything, the nation has matured as a result of the tour. She has come of age.'
Richard Shears and Isobelle Gidley, Storm out of Africa : the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand, Macmillian, Auckland, 1981, p.154.
It's Just a Game (Anon), in, The New Zealand Experience : 100 Vignettes, collected by B. Shaw & K. Broadley, 1985.
'New Zealanders had led comfortable and easy lives and, suddenly, here they were with emotions that exploded within them for almost everyone had some feeling about the Springbok tour. In a way, the shock and disbelief expressed by New Zealanders at what had happened stemmed from witnessing a loss of innocence. The country had faced social disruption before but the 1981 tour brought to the surface arguments of which New Zealand society assumed it was free - racism and bigotry. If anything, the nation has matured as a result of the tour. She has come of age.'
Richard Shears and Isobelle Gidley, Storm out of Africa : the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand, Macmillian, Auckland, 1981, p.154.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE IMPACT OF THE SPRINGBOK TOUR ON SOCIETY
It is indisputable that the 1981 Springbok Tour and it's surrounding protest actions had a significant effect on society both in New Zealand and internationally, in the long and the short term. Millions of people were affected by it, both during and after the event and it has changed the lives of people indefinitely. It opened the eyes of New Zealanders, South Africans and people internationally on racism and demonstrated the power of even a small country to make a worldwide difference. Events in New Zealand contributed to the change of the lives of South Africans indefinitely, and have contributed also to a racial awareness worldwide. It was an event that had deep consequences, affected millions of people and is still influencing society today, as South Africa have not slipped back into a state of apartheid. The Springbok Tour was undoubtedly an event with significant impacts worldwide.