‘Atmosphere of anger explosive’

Press, 27 July 1981, Page 3

‘Atmosphere of anger explosive’

By

ALLAN BARCLAY,

NZPA staff correspondent

Hamilton Reporters running inside the wire fence at Rugby Park, Hamilton, to keep up with marching demonstrators ran for cover when the protesters broke through.

I scrambled up a concrete wall and clung to the railing round the , terrace seating, watching the action three metres below. A few metres to my right a police cameraman was filming the demonstration.

“Get down. Police Department,” he shouted at the people in front of him who were standing up for a better view.

Rugby fans shouted obscenities at the demonstrators.

“Get those television cameras out of it,” one yelled, hurling a can at a film crew at the fence. A woman on the terraces ran down to the fence to push a placard stick-first

through the wire at a silent protester.

I was the target of abuse from a group of rugby fans who guessed I was a reporter. I took the precaution of slipping my notebook out of sight. Eggs, tomatoes, beer cans, sticks, and all manner of objects were flying in all directions. The atmosphere of anger and frustration among the rugby fans was explosive. “Kill them,” a man yelled. He tried to get through rugby supporters at the demonstrators but was held back by people in the crowd. Others came off the terraces, however, and attacked the protesters, who became temporarily stranded inside the fence.

When the first wave of demonstrators had gone through the fence another wave was repulsed by police reinforcements and the huge crowd of demonstrators on Tristram Street became silent, unable to see how-

their fellow protesters were faring on the field.

The small number of police on the fence side of the terraces gave rise to the fear that demonstrators would pour through on to the terraces. But the demonstrators chose to move back towards the main gates. They banged on the ticket box and a few of them climbed on top of the building. The police succeeded in holding the fence round the main gate area by hitting demonstrators’ fingers with batons. Tears streamed down many of the protesters’ faces in the tense and venomous atmosphere. Supporters yelled, “Good riddance,” as the demonstrators moved further down Tristram Street away from the main gate. But the protesters intended to storm the fence further up. The protesters streamed across a rugby field behind the main stand. I ran behind the main

stand. A bottle glanced off my back as I again took cover, this time under the steps behind the stand. Rugby supporters poured out of the terraces to help the police hold the demonstrators behind a line of stock trucks and trailers.

I was knocked flying by a bunch of rugby supporters as I moved to another vantage point.

Four supporters lined up with the police to hold back a trailer which was being rammed by another trailer which demonstrators hauled back and pushed forward.

A television cameraman filmed from the trailer that was the target of the ramming. He left quickly, however, when it became clear that the demonstrators meant business.

Baton-wielding policemen secured the trailer and the demonstrators were lucky they were separated from rugby supporters by the line of trucks. The few demonstrators

who appeared underneath the trucks were kicked back. When the demonstrators withdrew as the match was abandoned, I moved through the. crowd standing at the southern end of the ground to watch protesters being escorted from the field by the police. The spectators round, me stopped to pick up anything they could find to throw at the demonstrators.

“There’s a reporter,” said a burly rugby supporter, pointing in my direction. The crowd did not react, however, and I made my wayback towards the grandstand. A Waikato Rugby Union official I spoke to reflected the anger of officials at the match having to be abandoned. He shouted uncontrollably when I inquired if I could get under the stand to speak to the authorities.

"You b ... s are responsible for this,” he said. "Get to hell out of here.”