Protesters gathered at Newcastle's Fletcher Park on Wednesday afternoon in a show of solidarity with a 22-year-old climate activist who was sentenced to a year in jail over disrupting the Hunter's coal rail lines.
Ross Brown of Broadmeadow, who attended the rally, said the action was a show of support for Eric Serge Hubert, who stopped a coal train for five hours earlier this month by climbing on top of it, and was also arrested several days later at Ash Island where police said they found him with climbing equipment and tools.
"We want Serge to know that he is not alone," Mr Brown said, "This is such an important issue, but so many of us are coming out of the woodwork to try to make a difference."
Zoe, a protester who declined to give her full name but described herself as a friend of Hubert's, said the sentence handed down on Monday was unprecedented in Australia and boded ill for future activists.
"This is pretty big and if we don't challenge it, it sets a scary precedent for anyone who is trying to fight for a better future and a liveable future," she said.
Mr Brown added that he felt it was "a shame" that Hubert's actions were undertaken illegally, but said that it was necessary to raise the climate alarm: "It's a shame. It's a real shame," he said, 'It had to be illegal because that is the only way that it seems we can get our voice heard - non-violent direct action."
Hubert, who filmed himself on a carriage of the stopped coal train, is also facing charges in the ACT. Blockade Australia, the group which claimed responsibility for Hubert's protest, described the sentence as "'an overreach of power", quite shocking and unprecedented. Meanwhile, the group's two-week-long action was condemned by NSW Police Minister David Elliott as "nothing short of economic vandalism".
- With reporting from AAP
