Description Comments

“’Big Stink’ Promised If Fight Fails”

Object type

Image

Description: These images were taken for the May 7th, 1978, edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper, the first of which was published with the caption “Some of the 300 motorcycles involved in Palmerston North’s demonstration waiting for their owners to return from a speech session near the clock tower.”

An excerpt from the article read: “Almost 2,000 signatures were collected in Palmerston North opposing the Government's proposals to raise the registration fees for motorcycles. And if the fees undergo a big rise anyway, "there will be a really big stink’ said Mr Terry Alexander the man who organised the Palmerston North petition. Already thousands of motorcyclists have demonstrated against the Government's plans throughout the country. About 3000 of them rode through Wellington in one demonstration. If the Government increases the fees by the amounts that have been suggested (a fee of up to $80 for a big motor cycle) there would probably be a nationally organised demonstration of 10,000 motorcyclists through Wellington to Parliament, he said.”