Now, Hillgrove is organising a #Haka4Assange outside the Ecuadorian Embassy on June 19 - the seventh anniversary of him being holed up inside the London building.
"I can't just sit back and watch a fellow ANZAC put through the living hell that Julian Assange has been put through," says the Christchurch-born and Massey University-educated Hillgrove, 47, who has been living in London since 1999. Hillgrove claims Māori lineage on his mother's side with Ngāti Awa tribe roots in the Bay of Plenty.
"The United Nations has twice told the UK to set him free, but they are still refusing to budge and are in breach of International Law.
"What we are essentially witnessing is a modern-day crucifixion in the heart of London. It's inhumane. Something has got to give. The haka has a way of energising, transforming and shifting variables."
He added: "Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison really does need to pull his finger out now and bring Julian Assange home."
The Kiwi expatriate and founder of 6 Hillgrove Public Relations, who was convicted in 2014 on a £93,000 ($177,500) tax fraud, has previously said he's trying to make Assange's PR "less personal".