Twenty-one years since the historic Opera House 'NO WAR' protest, the men behind the handiwork have revealed how they pulled off — and how they view it now a new war is waged in the Middle East.
You may never have heard of Dave Burgess and Will Saunders , but you will almost certainly have seen their handiwork.
The protests were the biggest Australia had seen since the Vietnam War and, at the time, organisers said it showed Australians were clearly opposed to engaging in the conflict in Iraq. Conservationist Dave, 33, and Will, a 42-year-old English astronomer, aimed to let the world know that Australians were not on board with Howard's decision.But they decided it wouldn't get enough cut-through.Now 21 years on, Dave Burgess recounts his historic protest in the ABC series, Tony Armstrong's Extra-Ordinary Things."It began with Will's anger. was seething you could sense the rest of the country was too," Dave said.
Then, just before 9:00am, Dave and Will began free-climbing up the outside of the Opera House while lugging two tins of thick red pavement paint, their paint rollers and a paint tray — all now considered historic memorabilia. "After they'd stopped us, I said to the cops, 'Look, we're never gonna be up here again in our lives. Can we all take a minute to have a look?'" he said.After Dave and Will were arrested, they were charged with malicious damage and remained unapologetic.
"Whether it was caused by an irresponsible drunken man or one making a serious political point, it makes little difference," he said.Over the three years that followed, Dave and Will saved enough money to pay their hefty fine in a very Australian way.
Will Saunders War On Terror Opera House Protest Anti-War Protest Iraq War 2003 Anti-War Demonstrations NO WAR Protest Sydney Opera House Protest Tony Armstrong's Extra-Ordinary Things Sydney Opera House NO WAR 2003 Peace Rally
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