Souvenir tea towel, New Zealand South Africa Rugby Tour 1960

item details

NameSouvenir tea towel, New Zealand South Africa Rugby Tour 1960

ProductionChristy; manufacturer(s); 1960; Manchester

Classificationsouvenirs, dish towels

Materialsterry

Dimensions460mm, 755mm

Registration NumberGH018499

Credit lineGift of Kirstie Ross, 2020

Overview

This tea towel is a souvenir of the 1960 All Black tour of South Africa. It was a controversial tour that gave rise to a significant anti-apartheid protest movement in New Zealand.

Opposition to sporting contact between New Zealand and apartheid South Africa had been evident since the 1920s. However, the Rugby Union’s decision to exclude Māori players from the 1960 tour, in line with South Africa’s strict segregationist apartheid policies, caused widespread outrage and unprecedented public protest. The Citizens’ All Black Tour Association organised a petition opposing the tour and it was signed by more than 150,000 people – still one of the largest petitions in New Zealand’s history. Protesters took to the streets and lobbied government, but Prime Minister Walter Nash supported the rugby union and the tour went ahead as planned. The All Blacks lost the series 2-1, with one test match drawn.

We do not know this tea towel’s provenance, but presumably it was purchased by a rugby fan who was looking forward to the much-anticipated tour. Although many New Zealanders opposed the tour, many others felt that politics had no place in sport. This rift was exposed during the 1981 Springbok tour, when conflict between pro-tour and anti-tour groups erupted into near civil war. This tea towel allows us to represent conflicting attitudes in New Zealand about the relationship between politics and sport.

References:

Gibson, Stephanie, Matariki Williams and Puawai Cairns. 2019. Protest Tautohetohe: Objects of Resistance, Persistence and Defiance. Wellington: Te Papa Press.
Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 2020. All-white All Blacks leave for South Africa. New Zealand History website. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-all-blacks-depart-for-a-tour-of-australia-and-south-africa-with-all-white-players
Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 2020. No Maoris - No Tour poster, 1959. New Zealand History website. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/no-maoris-no-tour-poster
Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 2020. The 1981 Springbok rugby tour. New Zealand History website. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/1981-springbok-tour