Six hundred blue crosses, representing the number of men who die from prostate cancer in New Zealand each year, were placed in the Octagon and supporters handed out information aimed at encouraging men to talk about their health.
Chief executive Keith Beck said the event, and others throughout Blue September, was about getting the message across to men and women that prostate cancer was a serious disease and needed to be discussed.
It is the most common cancer in New Zealand men: 2500 cases are diagnosed, and 600 men die from it, each year.
"The number of annual deaths from prostate cancer is higher than the road toll, but we could prevent up to half of them with early detection," he said.
PlaceMakers supports the cause nationally and Dunedin owner-operator Justin Macready said it fitted well with the company's customer base.
By offering simple educational material and fundraising, he hoped to break that "hard man mentality" and encourage men to seek help with their health.
A novel approach was organising Dunedin butchery Robertson Meat Ltd to make 200 blue sausages for the event.
Visit www.blueseptember.org for more information.
