“It is important to keep reminding ourselves that they will be in recovery mode after COVID for years not months.”

The City of Ballarat on Thursday postponed a series of events that were due to be held to mark the 167th anniversary of the Eureka rebellion.

Brett Edgington, secretary of the Ballarat Regional Trades and Labour Council, said it was “bitterly disappointing” to see the anti-vaccine mandate movement co-opt the spirit of the Eureka rebellion.

“The Eureka legacy is about standing together for the right to be able to have a say in the laws that govern people, and the right for working people to stand for parliament,” he said outside Ballarat’s Trades Hall.

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“Ballarat is proudly a town that is over 95 per cent double vaccinated ... (residents) understand that with freedom comes responsibility.

“The vast, vast majority of Ballarat residents do not want this crew here today from Melbourne.”

Police have also announced they will deploy a significant number of officers for the duration of the demonstration, while respecting protesters’ right to congregate in the regional city.

“There will be a police presence in the area to ensure there are no breaches of the peace,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Victoria Police engaged with protest organisers and the City of Ballarat in an effort to ensure that any protest activity causes as little disruption as possible.”

On Saturday, the group gathered in Treasury Gardens before marching through the city to occupy the intersection in front of Flinders Street Station, while another smaller counter-demonstration took place in Carlton with attendees in the hundreds.

Ex-Liberal MP turned United Australia Party candidate Craig Kelly, who has formally tied himself to the movement and is expected to speak on Sunday, addressed at Saturday’s crowd but did not receive the unanimously warm reception he got weeks earlier.

Mr Kelly shared the stage with a host of self-styled “freedom” activists who have become pseudo-celebrities during the pandemic railing against the “tyranny” they claim Victoria lives under.

There have been many anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne over the past 18 months, but the pandemic legislation has galvanised the “freedom” movement over the past six weeks, bringing tens of thousands out for mass weekend protests.

With Rachael Dexter and Ashleigh McMillan

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