item details
Unknown; manufacturer(s); New Zealand
Overview
Members of Destiny Church’s Kapa Haka group wore white tracksuits for the ‘Defend the Legacy’ protest march in Auckland on 5 March 2005, where they performed their own haka. The marchers walked up Queen Street to Myers Park.
Somewhere between 5000 to 15,000 members of the evangelical churches Destiny, City Impact, and Christian Life Centre marched for family values in protest against the Civil Unions Act (Lineham 2013, 160). They believed that marriage should only be between heterosexuals, and that the Act would undermine traditional family structures.
The Civil Union Act came into effect in April 2005.
Background
This particular outfit was worn by David Graham (Taranaki, Waikato) who was a founding and key member of Destiny Church Wellington from 2003-2013.
They wore white because they were ‘hammered’ for marching in black the year before in the Enough is Enough rally against the Civil Union Bill in Wellington and had been labelled as Nazis.
Even though there had been disquiet among Destiny Church members after the Enough is Enough fallout in 2004, no dissension was countenanced, and members had been told to ‘move on’.
The back of the jacket includes the logo for Destiny Church’s first political party, Destiny New Zealand (2003-2007).
References:
Personal communication between David Graham and Te Papa curator Stephanie Gibson, 7 October 2022.
Lineham, P. (2013). Destiny: The life and times of a self-made apostle. Auckland: Penguin Books.