Perhaps what we remember most about the opposition in Aotearoa against apartheid are the protests of the 1981 Springbok Tour. However, such opposition and Anglican involvement in it started years before 1981. In 1960, Bishop Wiremu Pānapa (then Bishop of Aotearoa) opposed the exclusion of Māori players from the All Blacks team sent to South Africa, and led a petition to Parliament calling for equality between Māori and Pākehā in Aotearoa New Zealand.1 In response to the 1976 Tour, the Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church called on Anglicans to boycott the ’76 Tour as a way to express their opposition to apartheid in South Africa.2
Leading up to the 1981 Springbok Tour, several Anglican Diocesan Synods (such as those in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson, and Wellington) passed motions calling on the Rugby Union and the New Zealand Government to stop the ‘81 Tour.3 Prominent Anglican leaders, such as Archbishop Paul Reeves (then Archbishop of New Zealand and later Governor-General of New Zealand) and Bishop Allan Pyatt (then Bishop of Christchurch) opposed the Tour and some, such as Bishop Peter Sutton (then Bishop of Nelson), took part in prayer vigils and protest marches.4 Church buildings, such as St Matthew-in-the-City in Tāmaki Makaurau, acted as meeting places for those who opposed the 1981 Springbok Tour, and some Anglican clergy were involved in anti-tour groups, such as Rev’d Andrew Beyer who chaired MOST (Mobilisation to Stop the Tour) and Rev’d Canon John Denny who was one of the protest leaders in Kirikiriroa.5
Some of the most prominent images that came out of the 1981 Springbok Tour are from various protests, and the same goes for Anglican opposition to the Tour. When the Springboks landed in Aotearoa, students from St John’s Theological College were there outside the international airport in Tāmaki Makaurau. 60 staff and students gathered for a service of repentance and solidarity with the Black people of South Africa as the Springbok rugby team made their way through airport customs. Those who gathered to pray and protest were led by the Melanesian Cross, a cross that has been involved in many protests over the years and has come to be seen as a symbol of Anglican protest and political activism. On 25 July 1981, a dozen St John’s staff and students were among the around 350 protestors that stormed the pitch at Rugby Park in Kirikiriroa. Among these students were future Anglican Church leaders, such as Archbishop Philip Richardson (now Archbishop of New Zealand). A wooden protest cross was fashioned for this protest carried by St John’s students wearing cassocks. In a dramatic image indicative of the violence that would ensue during and after this protest, the cross was brought down as rugby supporters try to stop the students from protesting on the field. The game was cancelled.6
Bibliography
Bester, R., ed. Harvest of Grace: Essays in Celebration of 150 Years of Mission in The Anglican Diocese of Nelson. Nelson: Standing Committee of the Diocese of Nelson, 2010.
Davidson, Allan K. "Church Debate and Dissent - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand." Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated April 20, 2018. https://teara.govt.nz/en/anglican-church/page-5.
Guy, Laurie. Shaping Godzone: Public Issues and Church Voices in New Zealand 1840-2000. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2011.
Manuka, Henare. "Pānapa, Wiremu Nētana – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – Te Ara." Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed March 28, 2022. https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4p2/panapa-wiremu-netana.
Matthews, Philip. "The Springbok Tour, 1981: Ten Days That Shook Christchurch | Stuff.co.nz." Stuff. Updated August 14, 2021. https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/126011335/the-springbok-tour-1981-ten-days-that-shook-christchurch.
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. "Two Members of St John’s College Run onto Rugby Park, Hamilton, While Two Supporters of Springbok Rugby Tour Try to Stop Them, 1981 | Collections Online – Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa." Accessed March 28, 2022. https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/44053.
National Council of Churches in New Zealand. The Churches and the Springbok Rugby Tour, 1981. Christchurch: National Council of Churches in New Zealand, 1981.
The Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church. Christians, South Africa and the Tour: A Statement. Wellington: The Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church, 1976.
Walton, Steven. "1981 Springbok Tour: Protestors Recall Violent ‘Battlefield’ and Vicious Punches | Stuff.co.nz." Stuff. Updated August 13, 2021. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125996999/1981-springbok-tour-protesters-recall-violent-battlefields-and-vicious-punches.