1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia

South African rugby team tour to Australia which sparked anit apartheid protests

The 1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was a controversial six week rugby union tour by the Springboks to Australia. Anti apartheid protests came to being all around the country. The tour is perhaps most infamous for a state of emergency being declared in Queensland. In total, around 700 people were arrested whilst the Springboks were on tour.

The first games were then played in Adelaide and Perth, which were disrupted mainly by youth led protesters. The third match was set to take place in Melbourne. A 5,000 strong crowd, made up mostly of university students, gathered in the streets of Melbourne to march on Olympic Park in protest. Police had set up a wall of units around the stadium, around 650 policemen many armed with batons and some on horseback. In addition, a gigantic anti apartheid effigy was hung from the Sydney Harbour Bridge but subsequently cut down. Protests at the Tower Mill Motel where the South African team were staying were responded to by police. The game was instead played at the Exhibition Ground, being moved from its original venue at Ballymore, as it was deemed easier to erect barricades at the Exhibition Ground. A two metre chain wire fence was erected to separate players and spectators, backed up by police in full riot gear standing ten meters apart and facing the spectators. According to Meredith Burgmann and Peter McGregor, both leading firebrands, the rugby tour was a crucial target but to stop the summer's cricketing visit was the ultimate goal. They were successful in this regard as the cricket tour was called off due to security reasons.