One of our members, Helen McNeil, said, "My husband can tell you lots about the protests." It turned out that Helen’s husband, David Williams, had been an activist in CARE (Citizens’ Association for Racial Equality).ĭavid had been one of the movers and shakers of the protest movement and he told me stories, lots of them. At a session with my writing group, I explained that I’d begun a novel set during the 1981 Tour. I researched the build-up to the tour, using library books, the internet and Merata Mita’s documentary, Patu. She’d begin to write about that time because she’d been changed forever by 1981 and New Zealand would never be the same again either. Also like me, the girl would become involved in the anti-tour movement and, years later, under Alert Level 4 Lockdown, she’d remember the violence, the batons, the chanting, the placards waving in the crowds. Like me, the girl would have close friendships that opened her eyes to the racism Pasifika and Māori families experienced. Like me, the girl would witness women pushing back against sexism. Like other teenagers, I was navigating friendships, family relationships, homework and teachers.įor some years now, I’ve felt drawn to write a novel about the Springbok Tour from a 15-year-old girl’s perspective. I was 15 when the Springboks came to New Zealand in 1981. ReadingRoom Donna Chisholm, the ‘81 Tour, and meĪ novelist backgrounds her book on the '81 Springbok Tour
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