‘Worst nightmare of any mum’: Shoppers pay tribute to victims as Westfield returns to life
By Andrew Taylor and Mary Ward
A steady stream of visitors paid tribute to the victims of last week’s mass murder at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday, as the shopping centre slowly returned to life.
Watched by security guards in protective vests, shoppers laid floral bouquets, put on black ribbons and wrote messages expressing their sorrow in condolence books.
A shopper signs the condolence book set up to mourn the victims of last week’s Westfield Bondi Junction tragedy.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“Feeling devastated for the innocent victims of this senseless attack and for the families and loved ones who are affected,” one mourner wrote.
Another message simply said: “We love and miss you Dawnie. Rest in peace.”
Thousands of people, meanwhile, are expected to gather at Dolphin Court, Bondi Beach, on Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil to honour the victims of the tragedy.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the vigil, beginning at 5.30pm, would provide an opportunity for the community to lean on each other after what had been “a terrible week for the city”.
A mother and young son leave flowers at a memorial to the victims of last week’s Westfield Bondi Junction tragedy.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“If we can stand together during the difficult periods, we can send the message that there’s far more good people in this city than there are bad actors,” he told reporters on Saturday, adding that families he had spoken to whose loved ones were injured in the attack had felt the support of the community behind them.
The tragedy will also be marked on Tuesday morning with paddle-outs at Bondi and Bronte beaches, with surfers and board riders gathering on the water to form a circle and pay tribute to victims.
The atmosphere at Westfield Bondi Junction remained subdued on Saturday, with several shops shut, security guards standing at the door of others and signs displaying a black ribbon and a message of deepest condolence to the victims of the tragedy.
Lara Abelsohn and Lee-at Jacobson emerged from the shopping centre with black ribbons pinned on their tops, after visiting the floral memorial and signing the condolence book.
Lee-at Jacobson and Lara Abelsohn wear black ribbons after signing the condolence book inside Westfield Bondi Junction.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“It’s an immense tragedy,” Abelsohn said. “I still can’t quite believe this happened in Sydney.”
Jacobson said she wrote a message expressing shock and devastation on behalf of a friend in Melbourne who knew one of the victims, Ashlee Good.
Abelsohn said the attack on Good’s nine-month-old baby daughter was “the worst nightmare of any mum”.
“I feel like as mums, we just immediately connect with that instinct to protect your kid,” she said.
Both women also expressed disbelief that Westfield Bondi Junction had been the scene of horrific violence directed at women.
“As women, you always feel a certain vulnerability – not in a shopping centre, but walking along at night,” Jacobson said. “This is a place that I’ve always felt completely unguarded, in every way.”
She also praised Westfield for providing mental health workers and signs displaying condolence messages inside the shopping centre: “It’s just really beautiful in a time of tragedy. I think there’s a real coming together of the community because it’s just unthinkable, this tragedy.”
The premier said on Saturday he had met with Westfield Bondi Junction security guard Muhammad Taha, one of the victims from last weekend’s stabbing, who is continuing to recover in hospital.
Taha, who was on Friday granted a permanent resident visa, suffered serious wounds to his stomach. He was present when his colleague and fellow Pakistani national, Faraz Tahir, was fatally stabbed.
“It was their second day on the job, or first day on the job, and to be met with that kind of terror was obviously enormously traumatic for them,” Minns said, adding that he was personally deeply grateful for the security guards’ actions, which he said had saved several lives.
Minns said Taha’s family would soon arrive in Sydney from Pakistan.
Also arriving will be Tahir’s family. His funeral will be held at the Baitul Huda Mosque at Marsden Park, in Sydney’s north-west, this Friday.
If you or anyone you know needs help, call SANE on 1800 187 263 (and see sane.org), Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).
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