For 56 days in July, August and September 1981, New Zealanders were divided against each other in the largest civil disturbance seen since the 1951 waterfront dispute. More than 150,000 people took part in over 200 demonstrations in 28 centers, and 1,500 were charged with offenses stemming from these protests. Town was pitted against country; parents against children; men against women. For 56 days this was the closest New Zealand had ever come to a “civil war”
“Some commentators have described this event as the moment when New Zealand lost its innocence as a country and as being a watershed in our view of ourselves as a country and people.”
This was the Springbok Tour of 1981. A turning point in New Zealand history
“Some commentators have described this event as the moment when New Zealand lost its innocence as a country and as being a watershed in our view of ourselves as a country and people.”
This was the Springbok Tour of 1981. A turning point in New Zealand history