Dr Macpherson organised the rally to show support for the facility after the district was told the camp faced closure because of a shortfall in government funding.
The outcome of an independent financial review, commissioned by the Ministry of Social Development, is likely to be known within the next few weeks and will probably determine the fate of the Roxburgh Health Camp.
Teviot Valley residents, health camp staff and children, school pupils and people who attended the camp as children all attended the march, with some travelling from throughout Southland and Otago to take part.
Many carried banners supporting the health camp. Most of the businesses in Roxburgh's town centre also displayed sandwich boards and posters which outlined their support for the facility.
‘‘What you've done is a very important thing, you've brought the attention of the rest of New Zealand to Roxburgh and gained the attention of the people who will decide whether to keep the camp open,'' Dr Macpherson told the crowd.
‘‘It's time we got our priorities right. Everyone here has got their priorities right,'' he said. The district had demonstrated its commitment to the camp.
Otago regional councillor Gerry Eckhoff asked what sort of society it was that had ‘‘no money for a health camp or a hospice but has plenty of money for a yacht race and for the healthy and the wealthy''.
Children were the most vulnerable members of society and there was an increasing demand for the services of the health camp, he said.
