Rowdy, impassioned mobs have frequently and conspicuously occupied roads, parks and open spaces in central Melbourne, demonstrating their concerns around all manner of political and social issues.

We Protest! presents an overview of this rude history. A sea of hats and bonnets mills on the banks of the Yarra in 1917, their wearers opposing the introduction of military conscription. Annual May Day marches celebrate workers’ rights, but also serve to promote a vast array of other causes. A succession of demonstrations for Aboriginal rights extends through to the Survival Day rallies of recent years. Peaceniks, dairy farmers, taxi drivers, loggers, vegans, Sikhs and gay liberationists: all make an appearance here, chaperoned – and sometimes confronted – by police.

The exhibition is running from the 11th of May till the 11th of August at the City Gallery, Melbourne Town Hall, 100 Swanston Street, Melbourne.

Click HERE for more info.