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I'd like to offer my respects to the life and family of Murray Ball.
The Footrot Flats syndicated comic strip and books introduced me to Kiwi culture as a 5 year old, and gave me many hours of pleasure and laughter. As a little fat prop growing up in one of the greener parts of NSW, I could sure relate to Wal and Cooch and Rangi and The Dog better than strips set in the red, dry Aussie Rules obsessed outback.
It's not all that well remembered here in Australia, but Murray Ball had a connection to rugby that he was prepared to burn to take a stand against Apartheid.
In 1985, when the All Blacks were due to tour South Africa, The Dog had become something of an unofficial mascot for the team. Murray wrote them a letter (from The Dog) saying
I just wouldn't feel right sittin' there while we played rugby with the people who have killed more than 300 men, women and children in the past 6 months just because they weren't white