After surging in size ahead of demonstrations at Parliament House the protest camp at Exhibition Park had all but disbanded on Sunday afternoon ahead of a midnight deadline.
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A convoy of buses, caravans, trucks and cars began trickling out on Sunday morning, with protesters claiming Canberra had not seen the last of them.
Police used loudspeakers to announce anyone who remained on Monday morning would be considered trespassers.
Plans were hatched for a new camp at an undisclosed location 40 minutes from Canberra, with microphone-yielding members of the anti-vaccination mandate group claiming an address would be provided to campers once a plan was locked down.
The man told the crowd the owner of the camp was prepared to give up his land for a small fee to cover the cost of insurance. Social media discourse later on Sunday suggested that plan had failed.
While police presence at Exhibition Park was minimal, officers were stationed at the gates on Sunday afternoon to prevent people from returning.
No arrests were made at the camp for the duration of the weekend, with orders to leave mostly respected.
Campers expressed frustration official figures had estimated Saturday's crowd to be 10,000, with several claiming the true number was closer to 1 million.
Several people who spoke to The Canberra Times claimed the media, police and the federal government were hiding the true number in an effort to represent them as a fringe movement.
Nathan West from Sydney and Natalie Darke from the Central Coast said there was a feeling at camp on Saturday night the demonstrations had not quite achieved what they had set out to.
Mr West said the protest had failed a little on the logistics end, with two stages around Parliament House thinning out the crowd.
"There was a bit of confusion with how it happened but that's to be expected," Mr West said.
"This is a people's movement. Normal everyday Australians made the call and then people came."
Ms Darke said she'd found solidarity amongst the crowds and would heed the call to return.
"Whenever we find out where they're gonna relocate or if that's gonna happen, we will," she said
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has largely ignored calls to engage with protesters, telling reporters in Sydney on Saturday they had the right to protest but should do so peacefully.
During an interview on ABC's Insiders, Senator Kristina Keneally said the Prime Minister needed to have a tougher stance, saying it showed a lack of leadership that some in Coalition ranks joined the rallies.
Liberal National senator Gerard Rennick and MP George Christensen have sympathised and expressed support for the protestors outside Parliament House.
Senator Keneally said a number of protesters were "violent extremists" trying to undermine the democratic process.
"The Prime Minister not only needs to make clear that it is not appropriate," she said.
"He wants to harvest the second preferences of the protesters. He should stand up and condemn the violent extremists who are part of that protest and he should make clear it has no place in Australian democracy."
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There was no evidence of vandalism at Exhibition Park on Sunday, with many campers taking rubbish with them or leaving waste in dedicated areas.
While one protester with a microphone told the crowds it was their right to stay on at the grounds, most expressed understanding for the need to vacate in time for the Canberra Show.
A collection bucket was allegedly passed around the camp on Saturday in an attempt to raise funds for Lifeline, after the protest caused the cancellation of its major fundraising bookfair this weekend.
Trinity Carroll and Jed Evans had set up camp across the road from EPIC after arriving late from Melbourne on Saturday.
Mr Evans, 21, said he wasn't anti-vaccination, he was pro-choice.
"We think it's wrong that people are losing their positions in jobs just because they don't want to get the vaccine," he said.
"If you want to get it and you and you believe that it's going to help you, then you take it."
Mr Carroll works for his family's hoses and hydraulics company, which he said had been affected by lockdowns in Melbourne and was now being asked to enforce vaccine mandates.
Ms Carroll lost her warehousing job because she refused to be vaccinated.
She said her family supported her decision but it had created some division with friends.
"I'm not really fazed on what people think of it," Ms Carroll said.
Buzz from NSW said he was among the builders, stonemasons, labourers and farmers at EPIC who had lost everything because of the pandemic.
"Everybody's thinking they're crazy, but you saw the turnout at parliament," he said.