The Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Insurance Company.

Since 1973 the Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Insurance Company has been the focus of anti-apartheid activity throughout t New Zealand. This campaign was initiated by the New Zealand University Students' Association, but it now involves a much larger group of people and organisations, including the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches.

However this AGM was different from the others. After five years of polite questioning, of proper behaviour and low key approaches with no effect it was deeded to institute a tactic of large scale disruption. The decision was taken to turn the AGM of the New Zealand Insurance Company into an anti-apartheid demonstration.

Those of us who were shareholders or proxy holders and who were embarking on this attack, met at 1 pm on Tuesday for the final briefing, just two hours before the commencement of the AGM. Many people there came from Auckland, but there were a fair number from all over the country. The Auckland people had been engaged in intensive practise runs and the whole plan of action was very well organised.

We were split into groups, each group with a leader who was supposed to take the main action and the rest to support him/her and stop them being interfered with. I thought this was a good idea until I found out that I was a leader.

We practised some of the chants that had been prepared; and rattles, black arm bands and face masks a la the lone ranger were handed out. We were informed by Regimental Seargent Major Dick Cuthbert (yes folks they're everywhere) that we would take control of the meeting in the first three minutes.