The tour had boiled over a day or so earlier at the Waikato game. Molesworth Street gave the police an opportunity to hit back. We left Parliament grounds in good humour intending to march to the South African Embassy. As we approached Parliament Gates the police announced that the march should go no further and a line of constables linking arms formed in front of us. The march’s momentum took us into the chain and for a short period the police tried to hold us. Those in the first few rows were sandwiched with no where to go. Two lines of police then formed behind the line of officers holding back the march and started batoning. Using the short plum wood batons commonly employed before the introduction of the more menacing long baton, they beat with little restraint. They targeted high profile anti tour protesters some receiving a fearful beating. I vividly remember one officer setting upon a television cameraman and attempting to smash the high powered lighting he was using to illuminate his filming. I was in the front row of the march and after receiving two blows I fell to my knees and scrambled on to the pavement and then ran down a side alley by the Thorndon fish shop. We later reassembled at Wellington Police Headquarters in a state of shock and anger. I believe that the police intended to make a stand that night and manufactured the confrontation. As the Tour progressed relations between protesters and police worsened culminating in the disorder of the last Test in Auckland.