The Octagon Hear Our Voices rally was one of many held across the country today, on the date of Florence Nightingale's birth in 1820.
It grew from social media page ''New Zealand, please hear our voice'', which was launched in March by a North Island and a South Island nurse collectively named ''Nurse Flo''.
Dunedin nurse Anne Daniels, who helped organise the Dunedin rally, said roughly 300 to 500 people gathered today.
"I'm just glad that people came. It's clear that the community actually does care."
Nurses wanted to do their jobs, but could not given the resources, pay and conditions they worked under, she said.
"We have systems where we report issues and they go into the ether and do not get acted on and we've come to the point where we have to do something.
"Ethically and professionally we are required to stand up and say we have actually got to do better by our patients our communities and the people we work with."
A similar rally in Oamaru attracted about 30 people.
