Springbok Tour / State of Emergency
Joh Bjelke-Petersen's hard-line conservatism attracted national attention in July 1971 when he declared a "state of emergency" in Queensland to control demonstrations against a South African Springbok rugby union tour.
Even the conservative press was troubled. The Sunday Sun declared a police charge on demonstratrs outside the Tower Mill where the Riugby Union tourists were staying was ‘a shocking plunder’. The article read:
There were no shoulder number tab on the uniformed policeman. For a start, they let their Minister and Commissioner down very badly. And they certainly played right into the hands of all those who have been crying out that the Government's State of Emergency was a dangerous thing.
Despite all the assurances by (police minister) Mr. Hodges and (police commissioner) Mr. Whitrod . . . despite all their talks directly to officers and men ... despite all the actual training the police were given, the hard fact is that once they were turned loose they appeared to Lose control - and they lost also the respect of a lot of people.
Well lets listen to an eye witness account by one of the anti-apartheid demonstrators, Jackie French, describing how she and her friend, Trish, helped to save future Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, from serious injury after a young policeman named Linsay Edward Daniels attacked Beattie inside Trades Hall and had lost control of himself.
This incident occurred at about 6:15pm on Thursday 22 July 1971 shortly after police had charged on mass and attacked a peaceful demonstration against apartheid outside the nearby Tower Mill motel.
Thanks to Radical Times Historical Archive ... http://radicaltimes.info/
