The 1981 Springbok rugby tour
A country divided
'Black Tuesday' - the 1912 Waihi strike
The killing of Fred Evans
Police response to disaster
Responding to tragedy
...although the functions of the Police have not been set down by statute, there is universal acceptance that these are primarily the preservation of life and property. It follows naturally from this that the Police have a clear duty to adopt all reasonable means towards these ends.
Commissioner of Police C. L. Spencer 1963
The crimes - Maungatapu murders
A timeline of crime: May–June 1866
For a few short months the gang embarked upon a crime spree along the west coast of the South Island that would culminate in the murder of five men on the Maungatapu Track.
May:
Hokitika
Burgess stole two revolvers from the Hokitika police camp on 10 May. He staged a 'discovery' of these guns at a nearby beach in the presence of two witnesses, Sullivan and a man called Chamberlain. A search of his room located the stolen weapons but his witnesses helped him escape any charges. The Hokitika police supplied the local press with details of his Dunedin history and advised Burgess and Kelly to leave town.
Politics and sport - 1981 Springbok tour
'Politics and sport don't mix'
In South Africa before 1948 the white minority enjoyed a privileged position, reinforced by a number of laws and practices that ensured there was extensive segregation of the races. When Daniel Malan's Nationalist Party came to power that year, this separation was intensified with a policy known as 'apartheid' ('apartness' in Afrikaans) that aimed to strictly divide the races.
Sullivan's betrayal - the Maungatapu murders
Sullivan turns on the gang
Without bodies the case was circumstantial. On 22 June 1866 searchers found the dead packhorse and the missing men's swags. Rewards for information were offered in vain, but a breakthrough occurred when the government promised £200 and a free pardon to any accomplice (not the actual murderer) who would turn Queen's evidence. This reward poster was placed where the prisoners could see it.
Stopping the 1973 tour - 1981 Springbok tour
Stopping the 1973 tour
Gleneagles Agreement - 1981 Springbok tour
From Montreal to Gleneagles
The All Blacks accepted an invitation to tour South Africa in 1976 – a time when world attention was firmly fixed on the republic because of the Soweto riots. Hundreds were killed as the authorities ruthlessly suppressed protests. An All Blacks' tour under such conditions was not only intolerable to many New Zealanders but also attracted international condemnation. Black African nations boycotted the 1976 Montreal Olympics in protest, firmly putting sports and politics back onto the same stage.
