Newcastle port blockade: paddling activists take part in one of the biggest climate protests in Australia’s history

It felt more party than protest as hundreds of people paddled into the Port of Newcastle on kayaks, surfboards and pontoons in what organisers hope will be the biggest civil disobedience action in Australia’s history.

On shore people stood shoulder to shoulder on Saturday, waving at the protesters, who will occupy the channel for 30 hours to stop coal exports from leaving Newcastle.

Some were dancing along to a band and waving Extinction Rebellion flags. Others gave the protest a comical air, such as Helen Child, who dressed up as Clive Palmer with a sign that said “Let Them Eat Coal”.

But for all its frivolity, the message the organisers Rising Tide hope to send to the government is serious.

“We are doing it to call on the government to tax fossil fuel export profits at 75% and also demand our government stop opening new coal projects,” says Zack Schofield, who helped organise the event.

Among the paddlers are Australians from across the country who have felt the personal toll of the climate crisis.

“We’re here to protect country and to protect our culture,” Willard Kurikuta says.

Nick Hopkins, who lost his home in Bateman’s Bay in the black summer bushfires, says people must “stand up and push our government”.

“The good life among the gum trees is lost.”

Grant Howard, a coalminer who travelled down from Mackay in Queensland to take part in the protest, wants to be a role model for other miners who wish to take a stand for the climate.

“I see the need for change and I want to be part of it,” he says.

The Greens leader Adam Bandt took part on a kayak, as did the New South Wales Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who appeared to take a while to find her sea legs as she headed out on her team’s makeshift green pontoon.

“People are fed up,” Bandt said as he surveyed the water awaiting his turn to paddle out. “People voted for climate action and instead we’ve got the government backing more coal and gas.

Bob Brown, who will take to the water on Saturday afternoon, gave a rousing speech before the paddlers headed out, comparing the action with the Franklin River campaign.

“I can say it’s going to be bigger. It’s going to be strong. It’s going to have the same outcome,” he told hundreds gathered on the shore.

On Friday the park behind Horseshoe Beach was a hive of activity. Large white marquees were erected and in one tent a large group of protesters stood in pairs learning strategies for non-violent direct action. Outside a group had kayak training.

Between the marquees and the beach, the protesters, who plan to take the 30-hour blockade in shifts until it ends at 4pm on Sunday, have set up tents and swags for sleeping.

Alex Goodsir, 17, says students from as far as Perth and Adelaide were travelling to Newcastle to take part in the blockade.

“It’s really important we have young people take part in this,” she says. “It’s our future.”

As a Newcastle local, Goodsir says she also feels a deeper duty.

“I’ve lived in Newcastle my whole life and at first I never thought much about the coal ships I was used to seeing every day on the horizon,” she says. “As a member of this community I need to be lending my voice to the movement to stop this.”

Newcastle’s port, which last year vowed to be powered entirely by renewable energy by 2040, exports 165Mt of coal a year on average.

The Albanese government has turned its sights to a more rapid transition to renewables, announcing on Thursday it will expand the investment scheme for clean energy projects. But since it was elected in May, the government has approved four new coalmines or expansions.

Schofield says this shows “the tide is turning far too slowly”.

“We need to treat this like a crisis. We need to treat this like an emergency. If we’re lacking the funds there’s one industry which has caused the problem, which continues to profit from the problem, and we believe it’s their responsibility to pay their fair share.”

Alexa Stuart, 20, feels the same and so does her 97-year-old grandfather who will be attending the protest on Sunday – and may head into the channel on a boat if he’s feeling up to it.

Related: How Tasmania’s anti-protest laws drove Bob Brown back to frontline activism

“He really cares about us and our future and he wants to show his support,” says Stuart.

The action is not Rising Tide’s first foray into “climate defence”. The group were active in the region from 2005 to 2012 and were known for blockading coal ports and railways.

It has recently restarted despite higher stakes after the NSW government passed anti-protest laws last year after a string of climate actions blockading Sydney’s Port Botany.

In April, dozens of people linked to Rising Tide were arrested after they scaled a train bound for the Port of Newcastle and began shovelling coal out of its wagons.

The two-day blockade has the approval of police, so long as they only block the channel for the agreed 30 hours.

“This is not the end, this is just a stepping stone,” says Schofield. “Next year we plan on blockading the coal port for at least twice as long.”