Protestor Tactics
There was a rapid growth of "coalitions" of groups and all unanimously agreed on the basic principle of non-violence against people in the tradition of Te Whiti, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
As HART called it, they wanted "non-violent disobedience and direct action to stop the Tour." They targeted the Springboks, their supporters, the New Zealand Rugby Union, the government, and commercial and other organisations aiding or profiting from the tour. Democracy within the movement was key so that the different levels of participation from each individual was accommodated for. HART and the coalitions organised two major mobilisations nationswide to show the rising opposition to the tour. Active workers were occupied with organising pickets, deputations, petitions, rallies and son on. They printed hundreds of thousands of posters and leaflets as news spread about May 1 and July 3.
The anti-tour movement also tried to raise people's awareness about the campaign itself and educating people about the racist issue in South Africa.
This demonstrated the commitment of a huge number of people and encouraged every possible person to partake. Trevor Richards, member of HART, travelled around the country, speaking at meetings. He brought people together who would then go and set up the network of anti-tour groups. As more people became involved, there were workshops on non-violent protests. Groups took part in mass mobilisations, series of rallies and demonstrations where tens of thousands of people would march together all united with one goal - to stop the tour and stop apartheid. Protestors very quickly familiarised themselves with the basic operating procedures of the police and appreciated that more novel methods would have to be used if they were to be successful in making an impact. Pitch invasions became a new tactic along with choosing a suitable venue, and numerous direct confrontations with the police. Radical political activity ceased when the South African team left the country and those who remained involved in raising social awareness generally moved into a different movement such as the ant-nuclear movement or the Maori Sovereignty movement.
As HART called it, they wanted "non-violent disobedience and direct action to stop the Tour." They targeted the Springboks, their supporters, the New Zealand Rugby Union, the government, and commercial and other organisations aiding or profiting from the tour. Democracy within the movement was key so that the different levels of participation from each individual was accommodated for. HART and the coalitions organised two major mobilisations nationswide to show the rising opposition to the tour. Active workers were occupied with organising pickets, deputations, petitions, rallies and son on. They printed hundreds of thousands of posters and leaflets as news spread about May 1 and July 3.
The anti-tour movement also tried to raise people's awareness about the campaign itself and educating people about the racist issue in South Africa.
This demonstrated the commitment of a huge number of people and encouraged every possible person to partake. Trevor Richards, member of HART, travelled around the country, speaking at meetings. He brought people together who would then go and set up the network of anti-tour groups. As more people became involved, there were workshops on non-violent protests. Groups took part in mass mobilisations, series of rallies and demonstrations where tens of thousands of people would march together all united with one goal - to stop the tour and stop apartheid. Protestors very quickly familiarised themselves with the basic operating procedures of the police and appreciated that more novel methods would have to be used if they were to be successful in making an impact. Pitch invasions became a new tactic along with choosing a suitable venue, and numerous direct confrontations with the police. Radical political activity ceased when the South African team left the country and those who remained involved in raising social awareness generally moved into a different movement such as the ant-nuclear movement or the Maori Sovereignty movement.