Why the Government Should Stop the Tour pamphlet and leaflet

item details

NameWhy the Government Should Stop the Tour pamphlet and leaflet

ProductionHalt All Racist Tours; publisher; 1981; New Zealand

Classificationpamphlets, leaflets

Materialspaper, ink

DimensionsOverall: 150mm (width), 211mm (height)

Registration NumberGH026197

Credit lineGift of Peter Rae, 2022

Overview

This pamphlet and leaflet were produced by Halt All Racist Tours (HART) in preparation for protests against the proposed Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand in 1981.

The contents focus on 'Apartheid and Sport', 'New Zealand and World Opinion', 'Why pick on rugby?', 'The Government's obligations' (under the Gleneagles Agreement). The pamphlet includes a call to demonstrate in Eden Park, Auckland, on Monday 9 March 1981, the day of the Auckland Rugby Union's Annual General Meeting. A leaflet is enclosed in the pamphlet with a programme of events during April to prepare for the nationwide mobilisation on 1 May 1981 to 'Stop the Tour'.

The Springbok Rugby Tour of 1981 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.