Source: Issued by Auckland Council on Vietnam,
April 1968, retrieved from the N.Z. Dept. Ephemera, Social Issues, Auckland Public Libraries |
Anti-Vietnam Protests became a focal point for New Zealand society from the mid 1960’s onwards. The growing counter culture movement during the Vietnam war saw the beginnings of what was to become widespread large-scale protests throughout the nation. The New Oxford History of New Zealand (ed) Giselle Byrnes notes the significance of the Vietnam protest movement to New Zealand’s history. “The war gave rise to New Zealand’s first large-scale, self-styled anti war movement and spawned nationalist critique of the country’s alliance based approach to the war and international affairs” Young university students who were dubbed the ‘Vietnam generation’ usually headed the protests forming groups such as The Progressive Youth Movement and the Committee on Vietnam. These groups had various methods of protest, which included mass demonstrations, sit-ins, speeches and theatrical productions. The groups radicalised protesting in New Zealand. As the number of New Zealand Soldiers increased protest numbers grew to tens of thousands and over 339 street demonstrations were held throughout New Zealand from 1967 to 1970. In 1967 when South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky visited New Zealand to thank them for the war effort hundreds turned up outside of Parliament to show their opposition chanting phrases such as “No, no Kiwi its plain enough to see, we don’t want escalation and we don’t want Marshall Ky” and “Out murdered Ky”. The largest protest was held on Queen Street, Auckland where on the 30 April 1971 10,000 people marched from the Central Post Office to the Civic Administration Building. These protests often involved violent incidents between the Police and protestors which served to further radicalise many of the younger people who took part in demonstrations and continued on to protest other issues at the conclusion of the Vietnam war.
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