Thousands unite to protest Invasion Day, call for Indigenous sovereignty

Smoking ceremonies, a heavy police presence, grassroots legal observers and pro-Palestinian supporters dominate the annual Australia Day protest in Belmore Park as the thermometer hit 30.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched peacefully through Sydney’s CBD on Sunday, calling for Indigenous sovereignty on “Invasion Day”.

Officers on horseback and police helicopters followed protesters who took off from Belmore Park in the Haymarket to demonstrate through the city centre when an Elder declared through a loud speaker: “Let’s take these streets, people.”

Smoking ceremonies, a heavy police presence and grassroots legal observers and pro-Palestinian supporters dominated the annual Australia Day protest in the park as the thermometer hit 30.

Officers followed the slow-moving yet animated crowds chanting “Always was, Always will be …” and “What’s today? Invasion Day …”

Campaigners, including children and protesters in wheelchairs, waved Greens, Amnesty International Australia and black, red and yellow Aboriginal flags in the march to Victoria Park beside Sydney University for a festival.

Some wore T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Blak Lives matter.”

Protesters march at the “Invasion Day” protest in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

One woman in a wheelchair shouted “you have robbed us of everything, give us our land back, we get nothing.”

The January 26 national day, also observed as a day of mourning for many First Nations people celebrating Indigenous culture, disrupted businesses and traffic across the city for several hours with numerous roads closed and public transport brought to a standstill including along Pitt Street, the Haymarket, Chippendale, and Camperdown, with rolling road closures prompting a warning to commuters to avoid the areas.

Protesters march at the “Invasion Day” protest in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

People gather as they participate in an Invasion Day protest at Belmore Park on January 26. Picture: Roni Bintang/Getty Images

Speakers discussed Indigenous deaths in custody, missing and murdered Indigenous women, land rights and treaty, and unequal rights.

Statements by rally organisers Blakcaucus had earlier urged people to: “Join us all day to honour our survival, demand justice, and fight for the liberation of all First Nations”.

“January 26 marks the beginning of colonisation on our lands, leading to the violent dispossession of our ancestors and the continued oppression of our people today. The injustices we face are stark and ongoing,” it said.

The protest began in Belmore Park and ended with the Yabun Festival in Redfern, drawing crowds of tens of thousands.

Originally published as Thousands unite to protest Invasion Day, call for Indigenous sovereignty