Not since the days of the Vietnam Rally's have so many people turned out to a
rally to stand shoulder to shoulder in the Streets of Melbourne.
Estimates by Television news said 250,000, the Police 100,000, newspapers the
next day 100,000.
Luckily I had decided to take the underground to Central Station just opposite
or I wouldn't have got any where near it. Even when I arrived before 5pm,
hundreds of mothers, granmothers and families with prams with kids of all ages
were getting off trains at Central Station. I found myself in a very very long
line to use the lifts to get to Street level.
The meeting point was at the State Library at the corners of LaTrobe & Swanston
Streets meeting at 5pm and was to walk/wheel 4 city blocks south to the new
Federation Square on the banks of the Yarra River. At it's height the meeting
point swelled with people to stretch two city blocks to the North and one to the
East & West. After waiting 90 minutes we wondered why we weren't moving only to
find out later that so people had filled Swanston Street to the South that they
stretched all the way to the destination point at Federation Square.
After another 20 minutes we started to move being about half way forty minutes
later.
After having some dinner, I went to Parliament Station at 8.30pm which is 4 city
blocks from Federation Square only to find it
wall to wall people. As each train arrived for our platform they were already
bursting at the seams with people, prams and bicycles. Finally after missing a
number of trains as there was no room, a driver organized a small space for me
squash into.
After the excitement of our involvement in these Rallies we have to quickly
re-focus on "What Next". Peace is both a Community and Disability Issue,
remembering that ordinary people don't win wars but just suffer the devastation
for years later. Assuming of course they were lucky enough, not to have
themselves or family killed or injured.
Looking forward to reading accounts of other Rallies.
FrankHB
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