Tense scenes unfolded in Melbourne CBD on Saturday, as anti-government protests and anti-racism protesters clashed despite police efforts to keep the groups separated.
Opposing protests took place across all capital cities and some regional areas on Saturday.
Some marched in solidarity with Camp Sovereignty, a burial site and gathering place in Melbourne's CBD that was violently attacked by neo-Nazis in late August.
Others marched under the Save Australia and As police had predicted, things got most heated in Melbourne, where police estimated that roughly 2,500 people from multiple groupsdescended on the city.
Rival rallies reached within 50 metres of each other outside Victoria's parliament, where a large contingent of police officers had erected barriers to keep the groups separated.Australia Unites banner, calling for immigration reform and protesting "government corruption."