Heart Stick

This ‘Heart Stick’ was made for protesters to carry at demonstrations against the Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand in 1981. The split heart motif was the logo for Halt All Racist Tours (HART) and had been a well-known symbol of the anti-tour movement since the early 1970s.

Artists Against Apartheid

Artist Barry Lett made about 40 of these sticks for fellow protesters to carry. Many were seen bobbing above protesters' heads before and during the last rugby test in Auckland on 12 September 1981.

Lett wanted to be contribute a more creative response to the tour after the violence of the protests in Gisborne and Hamilton (on 22 and 25 July 1981 respectively). He was part of Artists Against Apartheid, an organisation that relied on more creative, less confrontational approaches. It organised street parades, concerts, street theatre, and fund-raising; drawing together artists from all disciplines – visual arts, music, theatre and writing.

Barry Lett (1940-2017)

Lett was a pioneering art dealer from the mid-1960s (the Barry Lett Gallery in Auckland), organising many exhibitions by leading New Zealand artists. He also lobbied on environmental matters.

Beyond the tour

This particular stick was purchased by Auckland protester Valerie Smith at an auction run by HART after the tour to help raise funds for the legal fees incurred by protest arrests.