item details
NameSafety helmet
ProductionWormald; manufacturer(s); circa 1980; Australia
Classificationhelmets
Materialsplastic
DimensionsOverall: 230mm (width), 160mm (height), 305mm (length)
Registration NumberGH011699
Credit lineGift of Meg Bailey, 2007
Overview
Activist and veteran protester Rona Bailey (1914-2005) wore this safety helmet during protests in Wellington in 1981. It is typical of those worn by protesters to protect themselves from police batons.
Battle of Molesworth Street
Bailey was one of the many thousands protesting. She was hit with a police baton and left bloodied in the infamous 'Battle of Molesworth Street', which took place outside Parliament in Wellington on 29 July 1981.
Bailey was one of 15 communists and radicals listed in a Security Intelligence Service report which Prime Minister Robert Muldoon used to smear the anti-apartheid movement.