On 18 June 1935, about 1000 protesters, consisting of striking longshoremen and their supporters, marched towards the Heatley Street entrance to Ballantyne Pier, where strikebreakers were unloading ships in the harbour.
Unlike earlier waterfront strikes, longshoremen were prevented from picketing the docks to discourage strikebreaking, and claimed that they were going to go en masse to talk to the non-union workers.