The tour split families and communities
Cities and communities were split by 1981 Springbok tour and it became one of the most divisive events in New Zealand history. Its impact went far beyond the rugby ground as communities and families became divided. Tensions erupted onto the streets and into the homes of people in the nation. This is because pro and anti supporters were often both within families and marriages. The disagreements reached extreme heights and the fighting extended to protests and riots in streets or at games which got violent. The book ‘After the War: New Zealand since 1945’ by Michael King had an article from the New Zealand Herald on the 1981 Springbok tour. A section of this said, “The intensity of feeling about the Springbok Tour on all sides made violence inevitable". Also, in the text 'Our People Our Century' by Paul Smith and Louise Callan it says that there was "civil disorder and strife" and that "the controversy divided religious groups, split families, provoked violence and inspired arson"
An anonymous commenty was made in, 'The New Zealand Experience : 100 Vignettes, collected by B. Shaw & K. Broadley, 1985'. The title is 'Its just a game'. "Although things had been far from perfect between my parents, the Springbok tour caused such tension and stress that we could not live together in the same house and function as a family unit. An example of the increase was when we, as a family, watched the evening news. Often one side would raise their voices in abuse and offensive name calling towards public figures. Later the abuse was turned in an indirect way on individual family members. This was done by blaming the chaos and disruption to rugby games in individual family members, their friends and associations. As the tour went on and the turmoil increased, the negative feelings intensified to such as degree that feelings of dislike, anger and incomprehension dominated our home"
An anonymous commenty was made in, 'The New Zealand Experience : 100 Vignettes, collected by B. Shaw & K. Broadley, 1985'. The title is 'Its just a game'. "Although things had been far from perfect between my parents, the Springbok tour caused such tension and stress that we could not live together in the same house and function as a family unit. An example of the increase was when we, as a family, watched the evening news. Often one side would raise their voices in abuse and offensive name calling towards public figures. Later the abuse was turned in an indirect way on individual family members. This was done by blaming the chaos and disruption to rugby games in individual family members, their friends and associations. As the tour went on and the turmoil increased, the negative feelings intensified to such as degree that feelings of dislike, anger and incomprehension dominated our home"