HART 'Halt All Racist Tours'

In reaction of New Zealand in South Africa's Apartheid system, here is a poster about HART in New Zealand.

HART by Lovely Tabuena

The Halt All Racist Tours movement (HART) was formed in 1969 to oppose the 1970 tour of South Africa by the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Backs. HART became New Zealand's main anti-apartheid organisation. Initially the primary focus of the organisation was the sports boycott of South Africa. It worked to end all sporting ties between New Zealand and South Africa. Protests against the 1981 tour of New Zealand by the South Africa's rugby team, the Springboks, resulted in massive protests across the country. 

Although the protests failed to stop the tour, no more ruby matches took place between the two teams until after the end of apartheid. Best known for its opposition to sporting contacts with South Africa, HART also campaigned against all contacts with apartheid South Africa. In 1980 HART merged with the National Anti-Apartheid Committee, becoming HART: the New Zealand Anti-Apartheid Movement. HART:NZAAM opposed all contact with apartheid South Africa, advocating the political, economic, social and cultural isolation of the regime. For more than 20 years it worked to raise public awareness of the realities of apartheid. Increasingly, especially in the 1980s, HART also took a stand against racism in New Zealand. Trevor Richards served as HART's chair (1969-1980) and HART:NZAAM's international secretary (1980-1985).

More Informations!

One officer wrote: "A survey made within the police department prior to the tour showed that 100% of police staff were anti-apartheid and that 73% were against the Springboks making the tour of New Zealand, for varying reasons.

"The majority of the police thought it was morally wrong that the team should have been invited and that the NZ Rugby Union was extremely selfish and dogmatic in issuing the invitation."

"I would rather keep politics out of sport. I was not against the protests as a means of democratic expression, but I was against the protesters' aims. I felt that New Zealanders who wanted to play rugby with South Africa had the right to do so and that politics should be kept out of sport ... in New Zealand, if not in South Africa." -David Howard

The anti-tour movement was equally determined to show its opposition to it. Although HART committed itself to non-violent disruption, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon condemned the organisation for having ‘spread lies about New Zealand’ overseas. People involved in the anti-tour movement were described as stirrers and troublemakers.

John Minto, the national organiser for HART in 1981, became one of the public faces of the anti-tour movement and attracted special criticism from Muldoon and pro-tour supporters. The long batons used by riot police during the tour were nicknamed ‘Minto bars’.