The protest was part of a three-day camp, one of whose objectives was to challenge coal mining in the area.

Wollongong police charged five of the protesters with trespass after they allegedly entered private property at Mount Kembla.

Police said that later in the day another eight people entered private property at Helensburgh and they too were taken to Wollongong police station and charged with trespass.

The 13 people were expected to face court at a later date. Wollongong local area commander, Superintendent Kyle Stewart, said that despite the arrests, most of the protesters were well behaved and acted responsibly.

The media spokesperson for the event, Jess Miller said that "the arrests were made in the tradition of non-violent direct action, there were no tussles.''

She said that up to 500 people had attended the protest.

Sutherland Climate Action Network convenor Jonathan Doig said that about a dozen people from the network had attended the camp during the three days.

See this week's Leader for the full story.