The organisers of a patriotic Australia Day event in the heart of Melbourne are celebrating after hundreds of proud Aussies turned up despite a scare campaign, while the city’s state and corporate media-approved “invasion day” protest was attended by 10,000 fewer people than last year.
Video of the pro-Australia Day celebration held at midday opposite Rod Laver Arena shows a stream of attendees arriving with Australian, red ensign and eureka flags, and organisers told Noticer News the crowd numbered in the hundreds.
The group later marched down Olympic Boulevard and along the Yarra River, where attendees said they were greeted with applause and thumbs ups from families having barbecues in the parks.
The event was organised by the National Workers Alliance in response to Victoria’s left-wing Premier Jacinta Allan refusing to reinstate the city’s annual Australia Day parade, which was cancelled by her predecessor Daniel Andrews using Covid as an excuse and never brought back.
A handful of far-left activists attempted to disrupt the celebration before being moved on by police, who said no arrests were made and that they were pleased with the behaviour of the crowd.
Victoria Police said 25,000 people attended the anti-Australian “invasion day” protest which started at Parliament House at 10am and finished at Federation Square at 4pm. The same event in 2024 was attended by 35,000 people, police said afterwards.
Far-left protesters waved aboriginal and Palestinian flags, and carried banners and signs calling for Australia Day and Australia to be abolished, and for land to be confiscated from Australians and given to indigenous people.
“Invasion day” protester numbers in Sydney fell even further – from 15,000 in 2024 to just 8,000 this year, reflecting a recent poll showing that support for keeping January 26 as Australia Day has surged from 47% in 2023 to 61% in just two years, with only 24% in favour of changing the date.
A huge crowd of Australian patriots arriving at an Australia Day celebration opposite Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/QqXEPIt4E2
β The Noticer (@NoticerNews) January 26, 2025
Australia Day rally organiser Matt Trihey told Noticer News he was impressed with the attendance at his event despite negative and inaccurate corporate media coverage in the days prior.
“The Nation Workers Alliance would like to thank all those who had the courage to challenge the media lies and slander and attend our event at the Australian Open,” he said.
“This is just the start, we will return to the natural order of things.”
Nationalist activist Blair Cottrell spoke at the rally and said on social media afterwards: “Total Australia Day victory in Melbourne! Massive thanks to everyone involved. Great energy!
“The real Australians are still here and weβre not going anywhere.
“No government funding. No representation in the schools. No institutional support. No corporate donors. No politicians backing them. No promotion in the press. Just Aussies, fearless and standing strong. This makes me extremely proud.”
During his speech he said: “Nationhood is not about values, it’s not about location, it’s about ancestry. I’m Australian because I’m descended from the people who built Australia, who mapped it, who conquered it, and who established the preconditions for our existence here now.”
Total Australia Day victory in Melbourne!
Massive thanks to everyone involved. Great energy!!
The real Australians are still here and weβre not going anywhere π¦πΊπ¦πΊπ¦πΊ pic.twitter.com/6jH51z7fEn
β Blair Cottrell (@b_cottrell89) January 26, 2025
