The Kiwi protester who threw an egg at Queen Elizabeth II during her trip to New Zealand in 1986 has revealed why she did it for the first time in Patrick Gower's latest documentary.
Patrick Gower on the Royals aired on Newshub and ThreeNow on Tuesday. The documentary explores New Zealand's relationship with the Crown and asks experts whether it's time we cut ties with the royal family in the wake of the Queen's death.
In the documentary, Gower speaks to people who are pro and anti-the royal family. That includes Debbie, who was jailed in 1986 for hurling a raw egg at the Queen in protest of her visit.
"I haven't spoken to anybody about it. I've never really sat down and had a discussion about why I did it or what was behind it or anything like that," Debbie told Gower.
At the time, she was about 18 years old and said her life was "really political".
She revealed the big motivation for her was to protest Britain's brutal colonisation of Aotearoa.
"The monarchy has been made off the back of racism. The English didn't just come over here and sit down and have a cup of tea, it was brutal," she told Gower. "I am really passionate about trying to make sure people have homes and healthcare and all that they need.
"If we are to be ruled from a country halfway around the world, I would like to see our society better. We talk about equality but where is it?"
She also revealed what the lead-up to the protest was like, including her last-minute second thoughts.
"I remember waking up in the morning thinking, 'My god, what are we doing? And maybe we shouldn't do it," she said. "I felt like somebody that was about to do something really politically out there. And I thought, 'I don't care because how many people out there have been locked up or killed just fighting for their land or fighting for their rights?'"
During the infamous egg hurling, Debbie and another protester had volunteered to help with crowd control when the Queen visited Ellerslie Racecourse.
"They told us all to get the children back because the [Queen's] convoy was coming through and I felt really sick, actually, at that point.
"I just threw it and it landed on her clothes, and all hell broke loose. It was bedlam because they weren't sure whether we had just egged her or maybe shot her.
"She looked horrified and she looked really scared and for that, I feel bad but she agreed to take on that status."
Debbie said they were immediately arrested and, from there, things "went downhill pretty fast".
"We were taken to Mt Eden Prison and informed there was a likely chance we would be charged with treason which was a hanging offence, and we were informed they still had the hanging block over in the men's prison. It was serious shit."
Debbie and her accomplice avoided execution and received a six-month prison sentence instead.
And, as time has passed, Debbie's dim view of the monarchy has not softened. In fact, she said she's even more pissed off by it now than she was in 1986.
"As this country evolves, why can't we stand on our own two feet? We’ve been doing this system for hundreds of years and it hasn't worked."
Watch Patrick Gower on the Royals on Three and ThreeNow.
