Lets be clear from the outset, Ben Roberts-Smith (BRS) has not endorsed the rally that took place on Sunday 26th April or its organisers. Supporters of the alleged war criminal were met with anti-fascist protestors out the front of the Victorian Parliment building on Spring St in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. The pro-BRS rally was organised by National Workers Alliance, a known white nationalist organisation lead by Matt Trihey.
What started as a small gathering of just over a dozen supporters swelled to a few hundred before speeches concluded. They marched into the city shouting chants including ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi’ with a sound system blasting AC/DC tunes among others as they went along Bourke St before turning left onto Swanston St. Then back towards the starting point along Collins St after being redirected by police away from their planned finish at Flinders St Station.
The public reception to the pro-BRS rally was cold. Along the march they were met with looks of concern, the middle finger, and the occasional ‘F##k Off Nazis‘. The organiser Matt has denied being a Nazi. As reported by 9 News, some attendees distanced themselves from the event after hearing the beliefs held by the march organisers.
During the march I was approached from behind by a pro-BRS supporter, seen wearing a shirt with the phrase ‘Tomorrow Belongs To Us‘ and a Sonnenrad, both connected to neo-Nazis. They got close enough so they could drop the words, ‘Nice watermelon pin you f####t‘ loudly enough for me to hear, quiet enough that the public around us wouldn’t.
Were they afraid of saying it loud enough for the public to hear? Were they trying to set up a reaction for social media? I can’t say for certain, but something about the interaction seemed fitting for the whole days event. While the right, with varying motives, are always testing what they can get away with in the public sphere. Such as last year when we saw their national conference march through the streets of Naarm/Melbourne in the middle of the night, and an organised attack on Camp Sovereignty a month later following the anti immigration rally. One thing remains clear. They are still cowards. They hide their true beliefs behind false banners and slogans, they wonder the streets in darkness, they whisper what they feel.
While the main march was disappointing to see. I will always remember the actions of the general public that day. The organised counter rally might have been small in comparison to the pro-BRS rally. But the anti-fascists weren’t the only ones who answered the call to take a stand against the far right. Everyone who gave them a glare carrying the disappointment of a thousand grandparents, everyone who gave the finger, or yelled at them as they passed. Every one of them sent a message, not just to those in the march itself but just as importantly if not more so to all those witnessing the event. That our community in Naarm/Melbourne has a message to those who seek to tear our community apart. That message as one young member of the public most elequently put it is, ‘F##k off Nazis’.
Other photographers covering the rally;
Find them on Instagram here: @nerdytaee | @josh_stanyer_photography | @kelseyhannahphoto | @matt.hrkac | @louisabilleter | @zucco.alex | @adamantly_human
News articles covering the rally;
Crikey (https://www.crikey.com.au/2026/04/27/ben-roberts-smith-rally-melbourne-protest/)
9 News Video (https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/backers-of-ben-roberts-smith-hold-rally/cmofi9d6v00270ho1v46y5de4)
