A CROWD of 2000, the biggest to turn up at a coal protest in Newcastle, descended on Horseshoe Beach at the weekend with the markings of causes as diverse as Pacific Island tribesmen, the Uniting Church and the Teachers’ Federation.
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They were there for the Break Free protest against fossil fuels. Many had given up Mother’s Day to attend.
Judith Leslie, John Krey and AnneMaree McLaughlin, who for the past six years have become accidental anti-mine campaigners in their hometown of Bulga, joined the protest.
“It’s a bigger issue than just our local one,” Mr Krey said.
At this Newcastle harbour blockade, unlike the one of 2014, no ship would run the threadbare gauntlet of kayaks and canoes.
And while the cruise ship Insignia cancelled its plans to berth in Newcastle, 350.org organiser Charlie Wood said stopping cruise ships was not the aim.
Some on the beach snorted at the claim the protest had cost the city $250,000 saying the sum had been more than made up for in kayak hire.
