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A violent end to the Springbok Tour in Auckland today. The tensions of the past few weeks exploded in clashes between demonstrators and police, with some on both sides seriously injured. Throughout the game a light aircraft buzzed the ground, dropping flour-bombs, smoke flares and leaflets among the players. The game itself a 25 to 22 win for the All Blacks to clinch the series.
It was a match played under almost siege conditions, with the action at times brought to a standstill by the aerial attack. One All Black player was felled by a direct hit from a flour bomb. From the demonstrations outside the ground 47 people were taken to hospital with injuries, 20 of them Police. Two Policemen are said to be seriously injured, at least 150 people were arrested. Further away demonstrators brought traffic across Auckland’s Harbour Bridge to a halt and others invaded transmitting stations to cut off television coverage of the match to parts of the South Island. Live satellite transmissions to South Africa were also affected. Confrontations between Police and thousands of demonstrators began well before the start of the match.
The light aircraft that buzzed Eden Park throughout today’s final test match headed for the North Shore as the game ended. Police were lying in wait and arrested a man and a woman soon after the plane touched down at Dairy Flats. In all the plane is said to have swooped across Eden Park 69 times.
Protesters broke into two transmission stations near Dunedin and Timaru this afternoon, disrupting broadcasts to large parts of Otago and South Canterbury. The Mount Cargill station near Dunedin was off the air for 45 minutes, while the Studholme transmitter in South Canterbury was out for nearly an hour.
At Moirs Hill near the Warkworth transmitter ten people wearing balaclavas slashed through six cables, halting international toll calls, affecting satellite transmissions and reducing all toll calls North of Auckland. Staff managed to re-route satellite transmission of the test match to South Africa and are working on emergency repairs to restore toll calls.
In Auckland a group of demonstrators tried to stop traffic on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Highlights of the game itself, one of the most exciting in test history.
Anti-tour protests were held in many other centres today, most of them relatively peaceful. In Wellington more than 3000 protesters, among them any family groups took part in a rally and march to Parliament. In Christchurch more than 2500 people marched to Lancaster Park. Smoke bombs were let off and eight people were arrested during a skirmish with the Police.
Some of the Police who have been on Springbok Tour duty may get an all expenses holiday in South Africa. A Cape Town businessman says he’s made the offer in gratitude for their good work, and he says he’s been inundated with calls from other South Africans who want to contribute hotel accommodation or cash for airfares and other expenses.
Other Stories:
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Sports:
Rugby test score.
Mount Smart Stadium, home of New Zealand’s World Cup football qualifying games, was inspected by a member of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. Speaker: Abdullah Ald Abah (Sth Arabian Football Fed).
Rothmans Soccer League results.
Horse racing.
United States Men's and Women's Tennis Championships.
Men’s freestyle Roller-skating Championship in Nelson.
Hot Air Balloon Festival in Bristol, England.
Weather.