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Apartheid was introduced in South Africa
Apartheid is the policy of segregation and separate development. It was introduced by politicians Daniel Malan and Jan Smuts. This was the primary reason why the 1981 Springbok tour caused so much controversy. It meant the white people got more privileges than blacks and coloured people in South Africa. -
1958 New Zealand tour of South Africa
The Rugby Union had to select an all white All Blacks team to tour South Africa. Walter Nash (prime minister of New Zealand at that time) did not interfere and the tour continued. -
1967 New Zealand tour of South Africa called off.
The prime minister Keith Holyoake had said "We cannot be fully represented by a team chosen on racial lines" so therefore, the tour did not go ahead. -
United Nations Boycott of Sport in South Africa
The boycott of sport in South Africa first begun in 1968, and was not limited to rugby. Cricket was also boycotted. The United Nations also boycotted all sport in South Africa in 1970 and 1971. -
HART was formed
HART (Halt All Racist Tours) was an organisation formed by John Minto to oppose the unfair treatment of blacks and the Springbok Tours. -
'Honorary Whites'
During the 1970 SA tour, 4 Maori/ Polynesian players were classified as honorary whites in order to play in South Africa. -
Robert Muldoon gets elected
The National Party came into power, led by Robert Muldoon. His election was the start of the controversial rugby tours in 1976 and 1981. -
Soweto Riots
These were student led portests in South Africa against apartheid. This affected the 1981 Tour because the rest of the world was outraged a country could be so controlling. It fueled protests against the tour in New Zealand. -
The Montreal Olympics
Because New Zealand was participating and this was seen as supporting apartheid, 26 African nations decided to boycott these olympics. -
Gleneagles Agreement
The Gleneagles Agreement was formed by the Commonwealth Heads of Nations. It was a part of international support for apartheid. Robert Muldoon later broke this agreement because he thought that rugby and politics should be kept seperate. -
The Springboks arrive in New Zealand
Although there was much opposition to the Springbok Tour, the team arrived in New Zealand. -
The first game in Gisbourne
This was the first game of the tour where the Springboks were to play the Poverty Bay rugby team in Gisbourne. 5 protestors stormed the field to try and stop the game. 400 more protestors were on their way. The real action was on the streets of Gisbourne as protests got out of hand. -
The Hamilton Game
This was the game against Waikato. It was the first game to be televised around the world. There was a pitch invasion by anit-tour people. The game was eventually cancelled as rumours that a plane was heading for Rugby Park surfaced. -
Molesworth Street
This was the event where police officers used voilence against protestors for the first time. Police used batons to hit the protestors. Molesworth Street was the point where Muldoon broke his promise regarding using violence. -
Christchurch Test
This was the next match to be played which the All Blacks won 14-9. The violence on the street got quickly out of hand and police said "it was lucky no one was killed that day". It was also the first time media showed images of violence on the news etc. -
Wellington Game
7000 protestors gathered in the city. Motorways were closed as were train tracks because protestors were going to cause extreme chaos in the city. -
Auckland Test
This was the last test match between the All Blacks and Springboks. There were fights between the protestors and police outside the grounds. Flour bombs were dropped onto the field to try and disrupt play. Smoke bombs were also dropped. There were about 30,000 protestors compared to 2,500 police officers. The All Blacks went on to win the game 25-22.
