First-hand record · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Aotea Square, Auckland
At 11am on Saturday 15 August, a handful of people stood on the steps of Aotea Square in central Auckland, holding signs. It was a clear winter morning, blue sky, the Sky Tower behind them.
Seventeen days had passed since the words “Go back to your own country” were said in the House. This was the first time the matter moved off the internet and onto the street.
The turnout was small. Seven or eight people can be counted in the photographs and video. Some stood in a line, one sat on the edge of the steps. The notice that went out the night before had warned of rain and told people to bring cover — in the event, the morning stayed sunny throughout.
One person held a handmade board reading STOP RACISM. Others held A4 sheets printed off this website — the shareable cards, with the QR code still in the bottom corner:
“We already teach our children better than this.”
“We hold nine-year-olds to a higher standard than a Minister of the Crown.”
People signed the petition on their phones where they stood. A Māori man walking past was invited over and stood with them, holding a flag. In the records we have there was no incident that morning, and no news organisation came.
Seven or eight people, in a square built to hold thousands, is a small thing. But it is different in kind from everything that came before it — until then this had all been typing. Since 29 July, a line repeated constantly in the community has been that Chinese New Zealanders never turn out. On the morning of 15 August, a few of them turned out.
That is worth recording exactly as it was, size included. Writing up seven or eight people as a mass rally is the one thing we must never do — everything this campaign has rests on every sentence surviving a check.
The gathering was called, timed and made by other people in the community. It was not organised by Stand Together NZ. Nobody from this site directed it, and nothing said there was agreed with us in advance.
So the signs did not all say the same thing. Some went further than what we ask for, and some pointed directly at a political party. People standing in the same square do not have to want identical things. We answer only for what we say ourselves, so here again is what this site asks for:
We ask for a withdrawal, an apology and a standard. We do not call for anyone to lose their job, and we do not support or oppose any party or any candidate.
The organisers say that if enough people come next time — the number they have used is 200 — they will register a march down Queen Street with Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and the police. For now that is a stated intention, not a date. If it becomes a date, we will say so here.
No news organisation covered that morning. This account comes from photographs, video and written records supplied by people who were there — it is not a summary of press reporting; the source is the people present. Faces are identifiable in the photographs and we have not asked each person for permission, so we publish no images here and name no one. If you were there and something above is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.