What Happened?
The opposition against New Zealand involvement in the Vietnam War began in the early 1960’s, with peace organisations, churches and trade unions making resolutions against the war.
Significantly large protests began at Easter of 1965, which was usually when the CND held an Easter peace march, in this year it the march coincided with the arrival of Henry Cabot Lodge, United States ambassador to South Vietnam. The Vietnam War became the focus of the march, and on that Monday CND members marched to parliament carrying posters and banners saying “Vietnam – negotiate now”. They demanded for the withdrawal of New Zealand’s contingent of non-combatant engineers that had been sent to Vietnam in 1964. After the march, they held a demonstration outside the white heron Lodge, where Cabot Lodge was staying. Many historians believe that this ‘was the spark that lit the fire’. As the members held all night vigils, with people bringing food and soup, more anti-war movements and groups formed from this protest all around the country, such as the Committee on Vietnam (COV). The campaign against the Vietnam War had taken flight within a week. Protest action throughout New Zealand against the Vietnam War took place from the mid 1960’s through to the 1970’s. As the war further progressed, as did the counter-culture and protest movements, they became a more militant and a younger wave of protesters. Although counter culture in New Zealand emerged out of what started in America, the protest actions did not take on the anti-conscription focus that had characterised the American protest movement against the war, they did however mirror the international condemnation of the war, with the historical forces of anti-authoritarian, anti-war and pacifism. |
“largely young, white, male, middle class and student dominated, which drew upon a wide range of beliefs, from radical liberalism, the counter-culture, Christian pacifism, anarchism and new-Leninism” – historian Tony Boraman |
In order to bring about change many new forms of protest developed so that the people could express their disapproval of the war in Vietnam and particularly New Zealand’s involvement. They influenced the public’s opinion on the Vietnam War through hunger strikes, street theatre, demonstrations, film festivals and teach-ins. The aim of the different forms of protest was to create an emphasis on information they believed the media and New Zealand Government was keeping from people. For example sixty people began a silent vigil outside parliament, with the aim of preventing Holyoake from committing combatant troops to Vietnam. This vigil lasted for seventeen days, and it ended with a rally of 1000 people. When Holyoake announced the government’s decision to send troops to Vietnam, people invaded his office and sat on the floor holding signs with slogans on them such as ‘ We oppose the war in Vietnam’ and ‘We have to do this to make ourselves heard.’
“I had attended the first teach-ins in Washington, came back through Asia and arrived on the first day that New Zealand troops were committed, so I went from the airport to the demonstration outside parliament. Things built up from there. I went into broadcasting as a current affairs producer for Checkpoint, and then I was sacked from there. I was given ten minutes to leave the building because the American Ambassador had iven the the head of broadcasting, Gilbert Stringer, a phone call and said that I had been organising this conference. I was reinstated, but it became an untenable situation. |
Street Marches began as early as 1964 in protest against the Vietnam War, then groups began using ideas from protest action internationally, whose anti-war group’s organised mobilisations and happenings. These ‘mobes’ involved the combination of marches, rallies and concerts. For example in 1969 there was a ‘mobe’ held in the quadrangle at Canterbury university, in which approx 300 students gathered to listen to folk music and rock bands and hear speakers, they then went on to march around the Cathedral Square to the Army headquarters in protest of the war. Another form of protest was stunts and street theatre, to express the younger peoples thought’s and opinions against the war. For example in 1971 students marched to the US embassy in Wellington holding a banner of 28 stick figures on it to represent the New Zealanders killed in the war, it then went on to become a 28 hour vigil, and each hour they ticked off one figure every hour. These new extreme forms of protest bought about more media, and publicity which meant that the movement was getting their ideas out to more people and therefore closer to attaining what they set out to do. It also led the way for more groups throughout the country to pick up on new ways to hold protests. Visits from overseas officials caused fluctuation in protests, as these visits were seen as the ideal time to protest. In February of 1966 American ice President Hubert Humphrey visited New Zealand, and in protest four young people chained themselves to the steps of parliament as a stunt to get themselves notices. In October 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson visited New Zealand, and it marked the first visit to New Zealand by a United States President. The anti Vietnam War protest movement believed that the media coverage and hype surrounding his visit would allow for them to be able to voice their opposition toward the war. However this proved difficult as 200 000 people took over the Streets in Wellington just to be able to get a glimpse of the President and First Lady. Although this was a set back protests still grew in size and force, as the toll of the war was being televised in New Zealand homes, more and more people took to the streets. The numbers of protests throughout the country grew to be in the tens of thousands, becoming an issue for the Government. Then in January of 1967 Air Marshal Ky, Prime Minister of South Vietnam visited New Zealand this caused a huge increase in protest activity, as ‘Ky protest committees’ emerged all over New Zealand. There were mobilisations in Auckland on the 24th and 25th of January, and they became the largest yet. Over 3000 people took part there were 21 arrests made during these mobilisations, with police handling the situation in a response that seemed extreme, however this extreme manner in which they charged through crowds etc, caused more press, and radicalisation of the movement. Then in August of 1967, when the US presidents special advisors, Clark Clifford and General Maxwell Taylor came to New Zealand 2000 people gathered in Wellington outside parliament chanting, as students carried a coffin that said ‘in memory of New Zealand Democracy’ as a demonstration. In 1968 there was a major event held called the ‘Peace, Power, and Politics’ conference, held in Wellington. It was held simultaneous to the SEATO council of ministers meeting, the Wellington COV (Committee on Vietnam) also organised mass protests to occur at this time. The protest conference attracted many international speakers, and was chaired by Alister Taylor |
Newspapers and newsletters began publishing as a way to educate people about the war. Many different publications popped up over the years, such as the Wellington Committee on Vietnam’s Newsletter, Indo-China Brief, China Newsbrief, and a newspaper called Vietnam Quote and Comment. Resistance bookshops also emerged, with the first appearing in 1969 on Queen Street in Auckland, they were established by anti-war supporters and pacifists. People were beginning to believe that action protest would not bring about change as that had hoped, and so these bookshops were put in place to encourage counter-culture ideas, and promote the anti-war movement by selling radical literature. The bookstores began to fade away in the 1970’s when the anti-war movement and radicalism of the 60’s slowly faded. The Auckland bookstores stopped in 1974, but the Wellington store continued until 1977.
There were numerous protests throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s all around New Zealand, with different movements involved. The protest movement was made up of a diverse group of New Zealanders, which ranged from the Progressive Youth Movement, involving radical students, to communists, academics, trade unionists, church members, pacifists and many more. Occasionally the different groups had slightly different agendas, or ideas about certain things, which meant that the anti-war protest movement was never a completely united front, but the overall message was clear to the public and to the New Zealand Government.
During the decade of anti-war protests and the emergence of counter culture, the criticism towards the New Zealand Government from the public failed to weaken Holyoake’s support for the American policy. However the protest did have an effect that cause government response, the Government mounted a public defence of its position on Vietnam, due to the increasing protest and critique they had been receiving from the public. After the government had decided to send combat troops to Vietnam, Holyoake emphasised that the government was acting upon agreement made with the US and their treaty obligations, also that they were maintaining the values of collective security, that New Zealand had been committed to do so, since the World War two. Holyoake often expressed his hope for a negotiated settlement in Vietnam, and argued that Military action was the only was to protect our nation’s freedom from the communist aggression in South Vietnam. This was due to the belief in the domino theory, that if Vietnam fell to communism, the neighbouring countries would follow; suggesting New Zealand could be one of those. Holyoake never publicly announced the importance it was for New Zealand to maintain good relationships with America and Australia, but rather noted that we were acting alongside our allies. Throughout the numerous amounts of protest in New Zealand against our involvement in the war Holyoake disregarded the anti-war movement criticisms.
There were numerous protests throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s all around New Zealand, with different movements involved. The protest movement was made up of a diverse group of New Zealanders, which ranged from the Progressive Youth Movement, involving radical students, to communists, academics, trade unionists, church members, pacifists and many more. Occasionally the different groups had slightly different agendas, or ideas about certain things, which meant that the anti-war protest movement was never a completely united front, but the overall message was clear to the public and to the New Zealand Government.
During the decade of anti-war protests and the emergence of counter culture, the criticism towards the New Zealand Government from the public failed to weaken Holyoake’s support for the American policy. However the protest did have an effect that cause government response, the Government mounted a public defence of its position on Vietnam, due to the increasing protest and critique they had been receiving from the public. After the government had decided to send combat troops to Vietnam, Holyoake emphasised that the government was acting upon agreement made with the US and their treaty obligations, also that they were maintaining the values of collective security, that New Zealand had been committed to do so, since the World War two. Holyoake often expressed his hope for a negotiated settlement in Vietnam, and argued that Military action was the only was to protect our nation’s freedom from the communist aggression in South Vietnam. This was due to the belief in the domino theory, that if Vietnam fell to communism, the neighbouring countries would follow; suggesting New Zealand could be one of those. Holyoake never publicly announced the importance it was for New Zealand to maintain good relationships with America and Australia, but rather noted that we were acting alongside our allies. Throughout the numerous amounts of protest in New Zealand against our involvement in the war Holyoake disregarded the anti-war movement criticisms.
At the time of the protest, and mass movement against New Zealand’s involvement in war it seemed as though all the protests did was create hype or buzz, but with no action taken by the government. Don Carson, chairperson of the 1975 Wellington Committee on Vietnam said,
“We had this youthful enthusiasm that we could change the world but, whilst we demanded that, things change, we never actually believed that we could. Tremendous energy went into organising the mobilisations in the main centres, where tens of thousands of people came out and protested by marching through the streets on a carefully orchestrated route to catch the maximum number of Friday night shoppers. At the end of all those, after the effort went into organising them, there was always the feeling of a let down. So what? Who saw it? Who cared? What do we do except organise the next one? It was that strange combination of doing things and not achieving things… but we just kept on going, like some sort of mouse in a Ferris wheel.” However looking from a historian’s perspective one can see the significance of the movement, as it gathered thousands of New Zealanders, to try to make a change, it brought about social change and political change in the long term.
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