Standing silently at the surf on Bondi beach, side by side with nearly 1,000 other volunteers, Lockie Cook allowed himself to experience the pain of a area's harrowing week in recent history.
“It feels like my defences are coming down,” he stated.
Volunteer lifeguards assembled by the score on Saturday morning to participate in two minutes of silence and remember those lost in the tragic shooting.
Babies, grandparents, neighbours and schoolmates dressed in red-and-yellow uniforms held each other, creating a chain stretching from the crescent-shaped beach’s northern edge to its south end.
“The most important aspect that’s come out of this is just the depth to which this community means to me,” he shared.
“This beach is our place of worship … It is crucial we unite and truly recover.”
An Interval of Quiet Contemplation
At the appointed hour, the two minutes’ silence was initiated by a voice at the beach’s main patrol tower, behind which had been laid rows of tributes.
“120 seconds can be a an eternity but I urge you to reflect,” he advised.
“Link arms with the person next to you, close your eyes and remember the loved ones grieving so we can rebuild with strength for this community.”
Lifesavers stared at their feet or to the distance as the community and its leaders observed. The sole audible things were waves on the shore, a single barking dog and a overhead rescue helicopter, which flew along the shore as the silence lifted.
Reclaiming the Sand
Friends and families slowly hugged one another and applaud their fellow lifesavers at the other side of the beach as applause rose from the observing onlookers.
This was another example of the rescuers working to bring together the area this difficult period, stated one man, a member of the Jewish community of the northern surf club and a person who assisted on Sunday.
“Today I just feel the care and unity,” expressed the participant, who wished to remain anonymous.
Having made his home in Bondi for most of his years, he took part in the memorial paddle on Monday and has worked to reclaim the beach as his own.
“The experience was asserting a presence, it’s cathartic,” he said.
The Ethos of Service
Gene Ross, a experienced instructor, spent the moments’ silence beside his just-trained son, considering the solidarity his club had demonstrated in the days following Sunday.
“Choosing to do the attack here … invited Australia to come and support the individuals affected.”
Scores of volunteers laughed and cried together as they made their way to their surf clubs and through the park where their colleagues performed rescues on Sunday.
A significant number lingered at the beach, on duty to help people entering the ocean.
“Our duty is to all and that’s the ethos of lifesaving,” Ross stated.
“That’s what we do as lifesavers: we move toward the emergency.”
