Halt All Racist Tours badge

item details

NameHalt All Racist Tours badge

ProductionHART (Halt All Racist Tours); producer; 1972; New Zealand

Classificationbadges

Materialstin, paper, plastic, ink

DimensionsOverall: 44mm (width), 44mm (height), 5mm (depth), 44mm (diameter)

Registration NumberGH025623

Credit lineGift of Meg Bailey, 2020

Overview

This badge was worn in protest against the proposed Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand in 1973. Prime Minister Norman Kirk's Labour Government 'postponed' the tour to avoid civil unrest.

HART

Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was formed as a national body in Auckland in 1969 to halt the proposed tour of 1970. Its name was coined by activist Tama Poata.

HART's split black and white heart motif became the most well-known symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. It neatly makes visual the double meaning of the movement’s acronym and philosophy – that black and white are together and part of the same human heart. It was designed to be easy for anyone to draw, paint or print.

Rona Bailey

This particular badge belonged to activist Rona Bailey (1914-2005) who first became involved in protests against apartheid in South Africa from the late 1940s, and campaigned against the 1960 All Black tour of South Africa. For most of the 1970s Bailey worked full-time and voluntarily for the anti-apartheid movement. Te Papa holds her hard hat worn during Springbok rugby tour protests in 1981 (GH011699).