Thousands of Australians rallied on Friday at the start of what could be the largest climate protest in history

Children were at the forefront of the protest in Sydney.

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• Australians from across that country gathered on Friday as part of a global climate protests being held around the world.
• Australia was one of the first countries in the world to join the global Climate Strike protests, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to show up in countries around the world.
• Visit Business Insider SA's homepage for more stories.

Students, teachers, activists and people from all walks of life came together for the first rounds of protests in the southern hemisphere kick-off. The Friday protests were started by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who protested outside the Swedish parliament.

In capital cities around Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, and Hobart, people prepared signs and chanted slogans in favour of swift climate action. Hundreds of thousands of protesters were expected across the country, with businesses encouraging their staff to take time off to attend.

It is a protest led by the youth, who were out in force at the protests and spoke to Business Insider about their motives for protesting.

"I want to ensure a better world for myself and my future kids," Steffanie Tan, 22, of Melbourne, said. "If we don't stand up to our government now, then we might not have a future to look forward to."

Student Kate McNess, 17, said, "It's an important issue and it's our future." While, 17-year-old student Nishtha Sharma said it was the only way she knew how to speak up. "This is basically the only way to have our voice heard," she said.

Thousands of people gathered at The Domain in Sydney.

Jenni Ryall/Business Insider Australia

Many used humour in their signs to get their point across.

Vanessa Lawrence/Pedestrian Group

Jenni Ryall/Business Insider Australia

Brad Esposito/Pedestrian Group

Brad Esposito/Pedestrian Group

James Hennessy/Business Insider Australia

Other protesters shared their fears for the future in their signs.

Vanessa Lawrence/Pedestrian Group

Vanessa Lawrence/Pedestrian Group

Sometimes all you need is three letters: O No.

Vanessa Lawrence/Pedestrian Group

There were many signs insulting Australia's conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Brad Esposito/Pedestrian Group

And many truths were spoken.

Vanessa Lawrence/Pedestrian Group

Others paid their respects to the 16-year-old climate activist, Greta Thunberg.

Jenni Ryall/Business Insider Australia

Students were at the centre of the protest.

Brad Esposito/Pedestrian Group

Jenni Ryall/Business Insider Australia

It was hard to avoid the reality of what happens for the next generation.

Jenni Ryall/Business Insider Australia

Protesters walked over the Victoria Bridge in Brisbane in huge numbers.

In Brisbane, Queens Gardens became so overcrowded that people began spilling into the street.

Thousands of people flooded the streets of Melbourne.

And the crowd continued to swell.

While the crowd in Sydney was estimated to be 50,000 people.

Australia truly represented.