New Zealand sporting links
with South Africa
South Africa
In 1948 South Africa introduced its policy of apartheid.
This was a policy of separate but equal development for
whites and non-whites. (Sound familiar?)
As a result of this act, inter racial mixing of any sort was
forbidden (separate train carriages, buses, drinking
fountains, etc)
It also segregated blacks from sport. There were no
racially mixed teams for any sport, and whites always
had far better sporting facilities. (So what happened to
separate but equal in sport?)
As a result, the Springboks, S.A’s national rugby team,
was whites only.
Look at the resource sheet. What are the key features
of APARTHEID? Create a landscape mindmap from the
information on that page
‘No Maoris, No Tour’
Springboks invited All Blacks to tour South Africa in
1960
This was on the condition that no blacks (i.e Maori)
be included.
‘No Maoris, No Tour’ slogan emerges from
protestors.
When the Rugby Union announced that no Maori would
be included in the team to tour South Africa, public protest
grew dramatically. A petition of 156,000 was signed
urging the tour be cancelled
Shamefully, the New Zealand Rugby Union and Labour
government allowed the tour to proceed despite the
protests.
1970 Springbok Tour
S.A permitted Maori and Pacific Islanders to
participate in the tour with the stamp
‘honourary whites’in their passports
NZ ended up touring with 3 Maori and 1 P.I – BG
Williams
Worldwide protests against S.African apartheid
Many international sports teams refusing to
tour S.A - boycott
1973 Tour cancelled
New PM Norman Kirk tried to persuade the
NZRFU to withdraw their invitation
Poloice told him that there would be
violence of the Springboks toured
Also NZ was hosting the Commonwealth
Games and there was a threat of boycott by
African nations
Kirk therefore cancelled the tour
Tour 1976
In 1975 National Party wins election.
Prime Minister Robert Muldoon refused to
prevent a 1976 tour by the AB’s to S.A
NZ’s international reputation hit its lowest
point that year.
Thirty countries, including twelve black
African states, boycotted the Montreal
Olympics.
John Walker won his Gold Medal at Montreal!
Cartoon Analysis 1976 Olympics
Cartoon Analysis
1976 Olympics
This Eric Heath cartoon appeared in the Dominion on 2 September 1976, a month after the
Montreal Olympics ended. 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).
Gleneagles 1978 CHOGM
Gleneagles Statement on Apartheid in Sport,
which was drafted in part by the New Zealand
Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon promised to
‘discourage’ contact and competition between
their sportsmen and sporting organisations,
teams or individuals from South Africa’
But what did this really mean?
“by withholding any form of support for, and by
taking every practical step to discourage contact or
competition by their nationals with sporting
organisations, teams or sportsmen from South
Africa or from any other country where sports are
organised on the basis of race, colour or ethnic
origin. “
1981 Government role
Muldoon wrote a letter to the Rugby
Union asking them to cancel the tour but
would not actually cancel the tour himself
Do you think that his actions were taking
‘every practical step’
Compare his action with that of Norman
Kirk in 1973
1981 Tour
Despite huge protests NZRFU invited white only
springboks to tour NZ
Over the eight weeks nearly 2000 New Zealanders
were arrested.
Various cases of arson and field destruction.
The greatest civil unrest in NZ since the 1863 NZ Wars.
One game called off due to violence.
Interesting Question from Maori activists:
‘Why had so many protestors risked arrest or physical
harm to support people in a country thousands of miles
away when the same was going on in NZ?’
Identify the significant historical event
People / groups involved in the historical event
How the event affected these people / groups
What happened in your chosen historical event? Give a description of the
event.
How were TWO of the people OR groups in society that you identified
above affected by the event? Clearly identify the people OR groups in your
answer.
Why is your chosen historical event of significance to New Zealanders?
In your answer, you could discuss aspects such as:
why your event was important to people alive at the time
the impact the event had on people’s lives
if the event continues to affect New Zealand society and how it affects
society today