Significance of the Springbok Tour...
The significance to New Zealanders was that it made them stop and question, what did they think was right those 56 days were testing to every household families turned on each other as different people held different views, it also changed
our society because before the tour there was racism towards Maori but with the Springbok tour in town it made us as a
society think that we can hardly judge another country's ways if ours is not perfect. This then led on to changes for Maori as new policies were put in place to help stop this.
Some of the protest had a purpose of linking assumed racial discrimination against Maori in New Zealand to apartheid in South Africa. Some of the protesters, most Maori, felt frustrated by the image of New Zealand as a paradise for racial unity. Many opponents of what they saw as racism in New Zealand in the early 1980s saw it as useful to use the protests against South Africa for wider social action. However, some Maori supported the tour and attended games.
The Muldoon government was re-elected in the 1981 election losing three seats to leave it with a majority of one. The NZRU constitution contained much high-minded wording about promoting the image of rugby and New Zealand, and generally being a benefit to society. In 1985 the NZRU proposed an All Black tour of South Africa. Two lawyers successfully sued it, claiming such a tour would breach its constitution. The High Court stopped the tour. The 1981 tour could arguably have
been stopped by the courts: it is interesting that protest groups did not attempt such a remedy in 1981. The All Blacks did not tour South Africa until after the fall of the apartheid regime (1990–1994), although after the 1985 tour was cancelled an
unofficial tour took place in 1986 by a team that included 28 out of the 30 All Blacks selected for the 1985 tour, known as the New Zealand Cavaliers but often advertised in South Africa as the All Blacks or depicted with the Silver Fern. The role of the police also became more controversial as a result of the tour. The All Blacks won the 1987 Rugby World Cup and rugby union was once again the dominant sport in both spectator and participant numbers in New Zealand.
our society because before the tour there was racism towards Maori but with the Springbok tour in town it made us as a
society think that we can hardly judge another country's ways if ours is not perfect. This then led on to changes for Maori as new policies were put in place to help stop this.
Some of the protest had a purpose of linking assumed racial discrimination against Maori in New Zealand to apartheid in South Africa. Some of the protesters, most Maori, felt frustrated by the image of New Zealand as a paradise for racial unity. Many opponents of what they saw as racism in New Zealand in the early 1980s saw it as useful to use the protests against South Africa for wider social action. However, some Maori supported the tour and attended games.
The Muldoon government was re-elected in the 1981 election losing three seats to leave it with a majority of one. The NZRU constitution contained much high-minded wording about promoting the image of rugby and New Zealand, and generally being a benefit to society. In 1985 the NZRU proposed an All Black tour of South Africa. Two lawyers successfully sued it, claiming such a tour would breach its constitution. The High Court stopped the tour. The 1981 tour could arguably have
been stopped by the courts: it is interesting that protest groups did not attempt such a remedy in 1981. The All Blacks did not tour South Africa until after the fall of the apartheid regime (1990–1994), although after the 1985 tour was cancelled an
unofficial tour took place in 1986 by a team that included 28 out of the 30 All Blacks selected for the 1985 tour, known as the New Zealand Cavaliers but often advertised in South Africa as the All Blacks or depicted with the Silver Fern. The role of the police also became more controversial as a result of the tour. The All Blacks won the 1987 Rugby World Cup and rugby union was once again the dominant sport in both spectator and participant numbers in New Zealand.