Anti Apartheid Movement
McGregor was more concerned with campaigning against racism ‘over-there’, in South Africa, through a group that bordered the humanitarian and the political, he joined (1969) the South Africa Defence and Aid Fund (SADAF - set up by John & Meg Brink white South African refugees). Again a group that was focused on educating and raising consciousness in order to collect money to aid political prisoners.
It was early in 1971, and the campaign against apartheid sport in Australia was reaching its coup de gráce. The main activist organisation in Sydney, the Anti-Apartheid Movement (with Meredith Burgmann and Denis Freney) needed a full-time organiser. McGregor took the chance of becoming a full-time ‘professional’ activist and was employed at $20 per week. After the massive mobilisations against the Springbok Rugby tour for that coming winter, effectively stymied future South African involvement in international Rugby. By September Donald Bradman made the statement that “ the South African cricketers would not come until they stopped racially selecting the team” and officially withdrew their cricket invitation. With the proposed cricket tour for the summer of 1971-72 cancelled by the Australian cricket authorities the substantive Australian sporting contact with apartheid sport was over.
McGregor was then employed by the World University Service in Australia (WUSA) – an international, radical aid organisation based in universities in Western countries - as an organiser campaigning about southern Africa. In 1973 he toured New Zealand/Aotearo as an outside agitator supporting the campaign against the forthcoming NZ Springbok tour.
Apart from building grass roots activities in Sydney as well as network interstate, perhaps the most high-profile event during McGregor’s tenure with WUSA was the report on the Australian (Whitlam) Government breaking sanctions on Rhodesia. Despite having spoken out strongly against apartheid, & Ian Smith's illegal Rhodesian regime, Whitlam wasn't doing enough. A high-profile Australian Government delegation was about to tour several independent African nations, & WUSA’s Report reached those African Governments just in time for them to raise the issue with Whitlam’s delegation, to the Australian Government’s diplomatic & public embarrassment.
Read more about this topic: Peter Mc Gregor
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