Polynesian Panthers: Radical group celebrates 50 years of activism in Aotearoa

Tuesday, 15 June 2021

Once a Panther is a Stuff podcast about the Polynesian Panther Party, a group of young New Zealand-born Pacific Islanders who stood up to institutionalised racism and helped change the course of history in Aotearoa.

Like their seafaring ancestors before them, the Polynesian Panthers guided their people to a new horizon – but instead of stormy seas, they navigated a red-blooded nation raging with rugby, racism and beer.

In much of what they did, the Panthers were ahead of their time: no possession of drugs or alcohol during movement time, no weapons, equality of the sexes.

They were outspoken and visible – their berets and black uniform adopted from their counterparts in the United States – they appeared to be a threat to white middle-class New Zealand.

Polynesian Panther No 33: Alec Toleafoa has been instrumental in the campaign for a state apology of the dawn raids.

But in contrast to their militant structure, the Panthers’ roots were in community work.

Panther Wayne Toleafoa, left, and Ponsonby People’s Union co-ordinator Roger Fowler (holding sign) were keen activists in Auckland during the 70s.

* Polynesian Panthers honour Miriama Rauhihi Ness for dedicating her life to fight for Māori rights

* Step into a 1970s lounge to explore the history of dawn raids in New Zealand

Will ‘Ilolahia is a co-founder and key figure in the work of the Polynesian Panther Party.

The movement started homework centres, organised a food co-operative, created a legal aid booklet with former prime minister David Lange, kept an aggressive police force accountable, facilitated prison visits and campaigned for the rights of tangata whenua.

Former party chairman Will ‘Ilolahia puts it more simply: “What was it all about being a Polynesian Panther? Standing up on behalf of our people, being good to your neighbour, don’t take no s… and stop this racism.”

The group was inspired by the book Seize the Time by Bobby Seale of the American Black Panther movement. Its central philosophy guided their three-point platform: peaceful resistance, Pacific empowerment (identity work) and educating New Zealand about persistent and systemic racism.

Anti-tour protesters storm into Rugby Park in Hamilton. Some Panthers would attend this match to study police tactics before the violent clash before the third test in Auckland.

To mark the party’s 50th anniversary, Stuff is releasing its latest major podcast funded by NZ on Air. Once a Panther chronicles the intimate stories behind a homegrown revolution.

Stuff editor-in-chief Patrick Crewdson said: “What makes Once a Panther so powerful and so engrossing to listen to is that it’s told entirely by the people who were there, recounting their history in their own voices.

“It’s impossible to listen to this and not feel angry, frustrated and saddened by the injustice and racism on display, but there’s also a lot of humanity and humour here.”

In the early 70s, New Zealand was hurtling towards a bitter clash as a post-war generation was desperate to halt an invasion of baby boomer ideologies.

Associate Professor Melani Anae is an inspirational figure in Aotearoa’s education sector.

So on June 16, 1971, in Auckland’s then-working class suburb of Grey Lynn, a meeting between ex-gang members and errant teenagers would eventually put them all on a course to feature prominently in that volatile decade that followed.

The more they learned about the art of resistance, the more their influence grew.

When Labour and National governments authorised dawn raids on Pasifika homes and churches to check for people who had overstayed their visas, the Panthers decided to raid government ministers outside their homes in the early hours of the morning.

“How dare they come at this ungodly hour,” one of the National Party ministers exclaimed while speaking to a radio station that had picked up on the news.

Not only did their actions help to stop the dawn raids, but the group has gone on to successfully campaign for a state apology which will happen at a commemoration event in the Auckland Town Hall on June 26.

The Panthers also helped form the Patu Squad during the 1981 Springbok Tour and were part of the vanguard prepared to sacrifice their freedom to protest against apartheid in South Africa.

But before finding a way to fight back against institutionalised racism, the Panthers first had to tackle a personal identity crisis.

Dr Melani Anae, one of the fierce sisterhood that made up half the party’s membership, said her search for identity took 40 years.

“The challenge for my parents’ generation coming to Aotearoa was a racist one,” Anae told Stuff.

“But for us, the first of the first [generation], the challenge was really about identity.”

Anae and her New Zealand-born Pasifika peers lived in two worlds: in the home and at church they were Samoan, Tongan, Nieuan, but on Auckland’s streets they were “bloody coconuts” or Pacific Islanders.

“The Panthers gave me that organised way to find my voice … and fight back,” Anae said.

“Joining the Panthers saved my life.”

The first five episodes of Once a Panther launch on Friday and can be found on Stuff or through podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Deezer or via an RSS feed.