The 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand was a very significant event to New Zealand. A short term effect was that it caused a divide between the country with immense disturbances to daily life. Friendships and family relationships were harmed due to different perspectives on the tour. At the time it broke families up, with it going to the extent that some families couldn’t even live together. Throughout the eight weeks of the tour, around 2,000 New Zealanders were arrested.
Another effect was in 1984, the Labour Government won the elections, with David Lange as their leader. He conveyed how there would be no more tours until there was no longer apartheid in South Africa. The New Zealand Rugby Union however still proposed for a tour in 1985, which was declined. A consequence of this was South Africa closing down their embassy in Wellington. The tour also affected New Zealand’s international relations and politics. Looking at the tour in the short term, it can be seen people ‘pro the tour’ succeeded. The tour continued and the national government was re-elected into parliament. However this was short lived. Labour was elected in 1984, with them proposing a nuclear free legislation and homosexual law reform, which were both significant to New Zealand. It affected the political party ideas, with Labour banning trade with South Africa. The 1981 Springbok tour affected South Africa immensely. It inspired people to fight apartheid so everyone would be equal. In 1990, apartheid ceased in South Africa. Nelson Mandela recognised New Zealand’s help in abolishing apartheid in New Zealand. He remembered how when he was in a prison cell on Robben Island, he heard that the Hamilton game had been cancelled, he described this as, ‘if the sun had come out’. The event has an impact on New Zealand community to this day. It helped not only to raise awareness about the injustice of apartheid in South Africa, but also increased the awareness of how the Maori people were being treated in New Zealand. Maori people became more welcomed into New Zealand society and were treated equally. The event definitely impacted people differently in society. Pro-tour supporters were glad that the All Blacks had victory, while anti-tour supporters in some cases continued with their protest against racial issues. The event only strengthened their anger and urged them to continue. This event helped people to understand the past significantly. This event conveyed how apartheid was in South Africa at the time, and how coloured people were treated so different and inferior to the whites. It also sheds light on how even in New Zealand not all people were treated the same. Maori, to some degree were seen as inferior to white people in New Zealand. The significance of this event has dimmed over time. When the event was in action, it was very significant to New Zealand involving a large amount of people. However as time has progressed it is less imminent in the community. |