It was more than just a rugby tour, it was a tour that forced race relationships in New Zealand and the world to come to a head.
For 56 days from July to August of 1981 New Zealanders led protests across the country, objecting to the tour of the Springboks Rugby team from the apartheid regime of South Africa. These protests became defining moments for the country's history and were the largest protests since the 1951 waterfront dispute.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 people took part in more than 200 demonstrations in 28 centres and, of those, 1500 were charged with offences stemming from these protests. Merata Mita captured the truth of what was going on, the decisions made by police and government and the fight by everyday New Zealanders for equity and equality in her movie PATU!.
Now Nga Taonga Sound and Vision has digitised the groundbreaking film, which followed the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, the clashes and the stand for the end of apartheid. Four years of pulling it together and the archive team says the piece is moving and an important part of the country's history.
TOHE | PROTEST is the new exhibition from Ngā Taonga that explores how the escalating tensions between activists, the police, rugby fans and politicians were presented by both government broadcasters and activist filmmakers.
PATU! was added to the Unesco Memory of the World Register in 2012 In recognition of its outstanding heritage value.
This history is at the core and the education of the next generation is one of the main drivers for the team at Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision who over the past four years have dedicated time to bring the impactful and iconic piece of New Zealand history out of the archives and back into the public eye.
"Using the 1983 masters, our preservation team worked for nearly five years to bring this important piece of New Zealand's film history back to its original condition and length," chief executive Honiana Love says, "PATU! will now be able to be viewed as it was by audiences back in 1983 when it was first released in cinemas.'
The exhibition will be opened by Associate Heritage Minister Kiritapu Allan on July 22, which will mark the 40th anniversary of the Springboks playing their first game of the Tour in Gisborne. It then opens to the public on Friday, July 23.