The council last week voted 9-3 to offer Mr Parry the role while it looks for a new chief executive.
Mr Parry resigned last month and was due to finish at the end of this month.
Last week, Gore District Citizen Action Group co-ordinator Hayden McIntyre released a statement saying the group had organised a petition to seek the immediate removal of Mr Parry.
The protest was organised by the group yesterday to take place half an hour before an extraordinary in-committee council meeting to update councillors on the appointment of an interim chief executive.
While Hayden McIntyre could not be at the protest, Jack McIntyre, his cousin, was appointed to speak on behalf of the group.
At the request of Gore District acting mayor Keith Hovell, Jack McIntyre met Mr Hovell to discuss the group’s concerns.
Mr Hovell gave him the impression Mr Parry would be appointed anyway, Jack McIntyre said.
"How long are we going to have to put up with him then?
"Who says they will find what they want in six months," Jack McIntyre said.
Part of the problem was the "rumour mill" and the stories that circulated about Mr Parry in the community.
"I can’t say who’s right and who’s wrong because we don’t know."
The petition, which closes on October 30, had more than 100 signatures, he said.
A previous petition calling for the resignation of Mr Parry was presented to the council in June but was not accepted.
