A well-known 79-year-old Noble Park resident was shockingly spat upon during clashes between rival protestors at the March for Australia anti-immigration rally in Melbourne’s CBD.
Draped in an Australia-themed scarf and on a walking stick, Dawn copped a gobful from a woman during a confrontation beamed nationally on TV news bulletins on Sunday 31 August.
She says she had told the woman to take off their face mask, to comply with the Victorian ban on masks at protests.
In response, the protestor lowered their mask and spat into Dawn’s face.
A shaken Dawn then shaped to strike the protestor, but says she didn’t connect.
“I thought I better not – if I was taken to the ground, they’d lay their boots into me.
“The guy she was with pulled her back. I was shaken up at the time.”
Dawn says she won’t press charges, due to fear of retribution.
She praised the police for attempting to keep the peace.
“The abuse coming to us was unbelievable. (Other protestors) hurled stones and bottles.
“The police kept moving them back. I was just gobsmacked by the guts that it took, I don’t know how they did it.”
According to Victoria Police, about 5000 people attended the convergence of several rallies, including March for Australia and pro-Palestinian protests.
Two police officers were injured by thrown bottles.
At least six protestors were arrested, facing charges of assaulting police, behaving in a riotous manner, attempted robbery, assault, and resisting police.
Also at the rally, Victorian Socialists member Sean Stebbings, of Greater Dandenong, said he was proud to stand in solidarity against the “racist” March for Australia rally.
“The day was very chaotic and a number of anti-racist activists were hurt in confrontations with police and neo-Nazis.
“It’s a hopeful sign though that thousands of people from all walks of life came out to make a stand against the far right and their hatred and division.”
March for Australia was widely promoted across the nation’s capital cities, with slogans such as ‘Stop Mass Immigration Now’, ‘it’s time to take our country back’, ‘no foreign flags’ and ‘it’s time to put Australia first’.
Protestors were requested to bring Blue Ensign, Red Ensign or Eureka flags.
Among their ranks were black-shirted neo-Nazis, one of whom addressed the crowd on State Parliament steps.
Seven black-clad men were charged over a violent alleged attack on occupants at the First Nations’ site Camp Sovereignty on King’s Domain.
Dawn distanced herself from the neo-Nazi element, saying she marched with hundreds of “normal citizens” among a “wonderful sea of Australian flags” that day.
“I don’t like that (neo-Nazism) at all and what they did with the Aboriginal camp.
“I didn’t see any of them there. I wasn’t up at the Parliament steps.”
She says she loves multiculturalism but wants “Australia back to being great again”.
“People say ‘she’s racist’ or ‘she’s anti-immigration’ – but I love people.
“There’s beautiful people from all over the world here, and you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
Dawn is also concerned by a lack of available housing and jobs, as well as people “bringing their problems from their country to our country”.
“I want to see people brought in that have our way of life, not burning our flag.
“Those who are wanting to burn our flag and not respect our flag – why are they here? Why don’t they go back to the country they like?”
Meanwhile, Mr Stebbins says the March for Australia movement unfairly blames migrants for the housing crisis, while Labor and Liberals don’t have a “genuine solution”.
“The cities of Greater Dandenong and Casey are incredibly diverse.
“There is no room in our community for so-called ‘leaders’ that claim to represent us, while also marching with Nazis.”
