Fuimaono Tuiasau reflects on his involvement in the Polynesian Panther Party who highlighted racism and promoted social justice in New Zealand society.

Imagine growing up in the 1970s in a Pasifika family that followed Pacific Island customs and traditions, a family of faithful church goers, with parents in good work, kids going to a good school — and then discovering that there were some things too embarrassing, awkward or hurtful to talk about.

Our communities were colourful, dynamic and integrating into Aotearoa New Zealand, but we never spoke about the cultural and institutional racism against us.

Forming of Polynesian Panthers

Some of us younger set got together to challenge these racist attitudes towards Pacific people and to advance the cause of social justice. We formed the Polynesian Panther Party — we were mainly high school and university students, all from Christian families and active in the Church. We were the first-generation children of Pacific Island parents who had migrated in the 1950s and 1960s, seeking a better life, good jobs and to be part of a new society. But instead of the future we’d been promised, we suffered racial discrimination.

We looked at the Black Panthers challenging racism in the USA and thought we could do something like that in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We admired their community programmes and actions coming from them. We read Martin Luther King’s speeches, Bobby Seale’s Seize the Time and Angela Davis’s When the Morning Comes. Robert Kennedy’s speech in South Africa and Malcolm X’s writings spurred us on.

Action in the Community

We saw so much that needed fixing or doing and got started. The Polynesian Panthers started homework centres. We ran a bus programme for families to visit loved ones in the newly built and rurally situated Paremoremo Prison and held Christmas parties for these families.

We encouraged Pacific families to go to the Peoples Union Food Co-op which sold vegetables and fruit cheaply to families in the Ponsonby–Grey Lynn-Kingsland areas.

We published a free legal aid booklet for our community with the help of lawyer David Lange.

The housing and tenancy situation in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn was alarming. The quality of houses and flats was bad to the point of being squalid. When Polynesian families asked the landlords to repair broken sinks, toilets, leaky roofs, holes in ceilings and walls they were often evicted and sometimes their belongings were thrown out onto the street. Families were desperate and the law was no help.

We joined the Tenancy Protection Association, which protected tenants from unfair and illegal treatment.

We crowded into the houses and flats of tenants facing eviction — when the police arrived, irate landlords were told the matter was civil not criminal. Then we quickly helped tenants find suitable accommodation.

Political Protests

We were actively involved in many political protests, including the Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. We had one banner, “No Viet Cong ever called me a coconut”, which was modified from Muhammad Ali’s “No Vietcong ever called me a nigger!” His outrage was provocative and stirred us on.

We found out that more Māori and Pacific soldiers were killed in the Vietnam War than other Kiwi soldiers who outnumbered them.

One soldier killed in Vietnam was the brother of a Polynesian Panther. We protested often and loudly. We joined in CARE (Citizens Association for Racial Equality) protests demanding the release of Nelson Mandela from Robben Island Prison in South Africa. We held vigils on Auckland’s Queen Street, made speeches and handed out leaflets.

The Dawn Raids

From after WWII Pacific migration to New Zealand increased to fill the many jobs that Kiwis did not want to do.

But when the economic downturn struck in the late 1960s and 70s, the mood of the government changed and many of these workers and their families were targeted for deportation. And this was despite the fact that Pacific migrant workers were leading good lives in New Zealand and had longstanding family connections in Whangarei, Auckland, Tokoroa, Hawkes Bay, Porirua, Newtown, Wellington and Christchurch.

The facts were as clear then as they are now: most illegal migrants were from Europe, the United Kingdom and the USA, but the government chose to focus on Pacific Island peoples.

It was racial profiling. Any brown-skinned person could be stopped at random and questioned about their legal status. Other Polynesians —many Māori and New Zealand citizens from realm dependencies of Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau — were also harassed and randomly questioned.

The government's decision in the mid-1970s to conduct “Dawn Raids” on Pacific homes was a total overreaction — illogical and racist.

The government accused Pacific communities of “not fitting in”, of being drunkards and violent criminals.

Police and Immigration officials raided Pacific homes at dawn or earlier, looking for “overstayers”.

Hundreds of Pacific Islanders were arrested, taken to police cells half-clothed, and put on planes back to the Islands. Their New Zealand-born children remained, separated from their parents. This other side of the Dawn Raids was pure and simple child abuse.

The Dawn Raids struck an ugly chord in Pacific communities. Some parents would be returned home from police stations, with neither apology nor explanation beyond a passing “there was a mistake”. Pacific communities lived in constant anxiety and uncertainty.

Panthers Take Action

The Polynesian Panthers decided to take political action to highlight this injustice. We held protest meetings demanding the end of the Dawn Raids and Pacific Churches held meetings where anger and frustration were expressed.

We Panthers took direct action by Dawn Raiding government cabinet ministers in their homes to highlight their sanction of Police and Immigration officials bullying and harassing Pacific Island families.

I remember raiding the home of Immigration Minister Air Commodore Frank Gill to draw attention to this government-sponsored inhuman action. Gill had said that Pacific people were “not kith and kin” with Kiwis, unlike European and English migrants.

Our actions raised the awareness of the general population to this issue, and the Dawn Raids were finally stopped in 1976 — although the government denied they had ever occurred!

However, thousands of Pacific families in Aotearoa and in the Islands have never forgotten those terrible years.

Supporting Māori Land Rights

The Black Panthers actively supported the Māori Land Rights Movement. Our Māori members told us about a side of New Zealand history we were unaware of — the violence and hardships of land confiscations that followed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

We protested at Waitangi in the early 1970s, took part in the Māori Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper, and participated in and supported land occupations in Raglan and at Bastion Point in 1977 and 1978.

Child Welfare and Well-being

We heard about the treatment of Māori and Pacific children in the care of the Department of Social Welfare (DSW). Many children were being beaten and abused. The DSW tried to cover up these shameful actions.

With ACORD (Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination) and CARE we presented submissions and petitions to the government to change these appalling practices. This is still an ongoing problem in Aotearoa.

Parent Support

At first our parents were not sure, or reluctant for us to be involved in the Polynesian Panthers. But over time when they became aware of the issues we were involved in, issues which they knew and felt deeply about, many came to understand what we were fighting for. My parents would often pick me up after protests, sometimes from Auckland Central Police Station.

Catholic Social Justice Principles in Action

From my perspective the Polynesian Panthers put into action the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.

A major lesson was the power of solidarity. We made alliances and connected with like-minded organisations. We worked closely with ACORD, CARE and the People’s Union supporting each other’s protest actions, exchanging advice and rallying to promote issues of common concern.

We promoted human dignity in the struggle against racism. We supported the poor and vulnerable and held to the principle of subsidiarity, amplifying the voices of those most affected by injustice.

Many of us then and now are involved in our faith journeys. We are teachers, university lecturers, authors, musicians, nurses, community workers and IT specialists. Our paths have never drifted far from service and justice.

Formal Government Apology

In August this year the government formally apologised for the 1970s Dawn Raids. The Polynesian Panthers had pushed for this for a long time, and we were there with our community leaders to hear the apology — a momentous occasion filled with solemnity and sincerity.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s apology was well received by all Pacific communities, while we all acknowledged there is still work to be done for good race relations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Work Continues

We see the government apology as starting a new chapter in New Zealand history.

It was a public acknowledgement of the wrongs of the time and the trauma inflicted on the community. We now must plan for a positive future together.

We want education scholarships for Pacific students in New Zealand and the Pacific. We are advocating for the Pacific migration story to be taught in schools as it is an important story for all New Zealanders.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the many Polynesian Panther members who have passed away, their parents and their families. 

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 264 October 2021: 12-14