Police officers baton training

This image shows New Zealand police officers undergoing training with the newly introduced long batons, in Ruatoria in 1981, in preparation for unrest during the Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand (July to September 1981).

The Springbok tour was a seminal event in New Zealand's political and social history - exposing deep rifts in society. Many New Zealanders objected to the tour because of South Africa's policy of racial apartheid, and many questioned racism at home. Protests caused obstruction and the cancellation of games, and violence escalated between protesters, supporters and police during the tour.

The intensity of protests at the first game of the tour in Gisborne on 22 July 1981 had surprised the police. Apart from their thick woollen greatcoats and sturdy boots, police officers had no defensive clothing, and many sustained injuries. The long baton was introduced to replace the shorter conventional wooden baton and became an effective and much-feared object. Police used the long baton to force protesters back – it could be a lethal weapon if applied forcefully (it was not permitted to be used above the chest). Because of its size, the baton had to be carried openly, and it made its users appear more threatening. For the anti-tour movement, it became a powerful symbol of state control and power.

This photograph was taken by former police officer Steve Mitchell who travelled from Ruatoria to Napier and Wellington to work during the games held in those cities on 25 and 29 August 1981. Mitchell was one of thousands of regular police who were mobilised around New Zealand for Operation Rugby (the police code name for the tour), demonstrating the government’s huge commitment to ensuring the tour proceeded.