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The Apartheid Of South Africa

Decent Essays

The 1981 Springbok tour, and more significantly the public disturbances that arose because of it, is one of the most impactful events on New Zealand, and even South African society. The controversial idea of having sporting interactions with apartheid ruled South Africa was not new to New Zealand politics, yet with Prime Minister Robert Muldoon in charge, the situation was escalated to astonishing heights. The violence all around New Zealand, between police, protesters and anti-protestors was immense. The impact that the 1981 “riots” had on New Zealand was not limited to the obvious sting of having such violence in the country, but spread to affect politics, economics, police reform, courts and more.

An obvious cause of the public disturbances around the Springbok Tour was the apartheid policies of South Africa. This is a very core reason of why many were outraged by the idea of having a South African sports team touring the country. Being associated with one of the most extremely racist countries in the world for a game of rugby was something many New Zealanders opposed. Groups like Halt All Racist Tours (HART), who were one of the largest “group” of protesters, quite obviously take issue with South Africa’s racist regime.

Another reason protesters were willing to take to the streets was Muldoon’s unwillingness to act against the tour. The Gleneagles agreement, which New Zealand had signed, urged governments to take all possible steps to prevent sports interactions with

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