My New Zealand Story: Stop the Tour! product reviews

This is one book that I was really looking forward to reading. I was born in South Africa so have actually lived there and been there for the events covered in the book although I was a bit young to worry about the tour. My youngest asked to be able to read the book and I will let him and answer questions he asks about what happened and why such a huge fuss was made over a few games of rugby.

The first thing I noticed is that the "diary" started on new years and that the story didn't just cover the tour so I was able to get a bit more background on the events and people in the story. It was really interesting to see how the kiwis decided that the tour has to be stopped and that they prejudged all South Africans by the actions of a few. I noticed a few comments that made me really grumpy and I had to put the book down for a while, comments like "the boks must have felt at home with all the police around the place". I was glad that even though the family got split up that things got dealt with and it was some real emotions and not just brushed under the carpet.

I didn't have a favourite character as it was obvious that there were a lot of misconceptions about South Africa and no I don't agree with all that happened but there was blame on both sides of the story. I will probably not be bothered to read this again but I will not stop my boys from reading it if that is what they want to do.

This is one of those books which is ostensibly designed for young adults, but has an even greater appeal for the oldies who were around at the time of the 1981 Springbok tour. I was based in Ireland then so I missed it, but friends and family back in New Zealand lived it as it unfolded - and when three of them saw that I had the book for review, they formed a queue to read it. I had read it myself in one evening so I said I was happy for them to read it too but there was a time limit and they had to give me feedback! No problems - they were relatively polite about taking a turn; time had mellowed them somewhat, I imagine, as two of the three were actively involved in the protests at the time. And my third friend, who was a student nurse in 1981, said that in retrospect she was horrified that she had not taken a more active part on the side of the protesters.

Although I was not present to witness the action myself, I was able to get a good perspective on what had unfolded back at home through reading the book. I was impressed by the way Nagelkerke wove the political perspectives into the personal stories of two families that were part of the conflict. The story is told on two levels: that of the public feeling on both sides, and that of the dynamics within a family torn apart by divided loyalties. The text is easy to read but, despite being aimed at a younger audience, does not compromise its integrity by over-simplifying. As an adult reader myself, I never once had the impression that I was reading a "kid's book". It is a sign of a good children's book that it can also be read and enjoyed by an older age-group.

Historically, the book is accurate; those of my friends who read it assured me that everything described actually happened, down to the burning of the flags in Christchurch (which one of them actually witnessed) and the storming of the field in Hamilton. The archive photographs at the end of the book illustrate the actions further; it is quite thought-provoking to think that such aggressive protests could take place in what was reputed to be a peaceful country. Although Martin Daly and his family are fictitious characters, as is Pete, they represent the ordinary New Zealanders of the time. The divisive nature of public reaction to the tour is brought home by the effect it had within communities, where the national love of rugby came up against the movement against apartheid.

There are some minor points of historical interest which will be more obvious to older readers. Martin's teacher refers to herself as Ms Cowley. Ms was a term not widely accepted in New Zealand until a few years after the tour happened. Her use of this title underlines the fact that she is taking a revolutionary stance against the establishment (represented by the Headmaster, Mr Mortlock) along with Jock the PE teacher and other staff members who are appalled by the apartheid regime in South Africa.

There are also references to the relative freedom that teenagers had to move around their city, often on bicycles or on foot. This ease of movement made the violence of the clashes between the police and the protestors even more horrific because they were so out of place at the time. Finally, the cover graphic includes police from a mixture of ethnic groups and protestors from the sporting community, in itself an interesting comment on the way New Zealand was split in its loyalties.