NSW Aboriginal Land Council member Roy Ah-See shook his head sadly. He knew how Australia Day 2012 would be remembered.
''We don't want to reinforce the stereotypes and the stigma, and unfortunately this will make the news; this will sell newspapers, right? Because it's a negative story about Aboriginal people.''
Mr Ah-See was right. The noisy protests, lines of stonefaced police linking arms and the sight of the Prime Minister being dragged from shouting Aboriginal protesters, losing a shoe in the process, became the enduring image of the day's events, and galvanised people in criticism of the protesters.
It began calmly.
They had come in cars and buses from across Australia, from the Kimberleys, Central Australia and the capital cities, to call for sovereignty for Aboriginal people.
About 1000 people spread across the lawns in front of Old Parliament House, with men and women in body paint and traditional dress bumping elbows with elders, dreadlocked hippies and parents pushing strollers.
Smoke from smouldering eucalyptus logs and leaves streamed through the air, mingling with the tart smell of barbecuing sausages.
A string of speakers took to the stage to call for land rights, for sovereignty, for a treaty and more.
The three-day Corroboree for Sovereignty, which will run until tomorrow, is being timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal tent embassy's establishment in Canberra.
At 1am on January 27, 1972, four men planted a beach umbrella on the lawns of Parliament House (now Old Parliament House) to protest against the McMahon government's land rights policies.
Gradually, the beach umbrella was replaced with tents and despite moving several times, has been in its current location for 20 years.
The original protesters' anger remains strong.
One of the tent embassy's founding members Michael Anderson said, ''You've only got to listen to some of the older ones here; the fire still there, you know?''
Later, young and old were united in rage, when comments Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had made earlier in the day - suggesting it was ''probably ... time to move on'' from the embassy - were relayed to the crowd. Hundreds rushed to the nearby Lobby restaurant to protest the comments, with furious protesters banging on the window and hurling abuse at those inside, and police and Ms Gillard's security reacting swiftly, literally dragging the Prime Minister into a waiting car.
But activists were unrepentant. Northern Basin Aboriginal nations chairman Fred Hooper claimed the protest had its desired effect.
''The Opposition Leader ... made a comment to tear down something that we have built over 40 years, which is sacred to us.
''So what do you expect us to do when we're 200 yards away from the person who makes that comment? You expect us to say, 'Yeah Tony, we'll tear it down? We're gonna rip it down?'''
This reporter is on Twitter: @_biancah
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