‘This is our church’: Scores of Volunteer rescuers Assemble to Remember Shooting Victims.

Gazing quietly at the ocean on Bondi coast, hand in hand with close to a thousand other volunteers, Lockie Cook allowed himself to experience the grief of a local harrowing week in recent history.

“It feels like my defences are coming down,” he remarked.

Surf lifesavers gathered in their hundreds on that morning to participate in two minutes’ silence and remember those lost in the previous weekend's violence.

Infants, elders, locals and classmates wearing red-and-yellow uniforms stood together, making a line extending from the iconic bay's north side to its south end.

“The most important aspect to emerge from this tragedy is just the extent that this community means to me,” he said.

“This beach is our place of worship … It is crucial we come together again and really heal.”

An Interval of Shared Sorrow

At 8.15am, the period of silence was initiated by a figure at the beach’s primary observation point, near which had been laid clusters of flowers.

“Two minutes can be a an eternity but please look within,” he advised.

“Link arms with the person next to you, close your eyes and reflect on the loved ones grieving so we can emerge more resilient for this locality.”

Volunteers gazed at the sand or to the distance as the community and its leaders observed. The sole audible things were the ocean's rhythm, a distant canine cry and a overhead rescue helicopter, which circled along the beachfront as the quiet ended.

Taking Back the Beach

Loved ones and colleagues slowly hugged one another and applaud their fellow lifesavers at the other side of the beach as cheers came from the watching crowd.

This was just the latest instance of the rescuers working to bring together the beachgoers this past week, noted one participant, a Jewish member of the north club and a emergency helper on the day of the attack.

“Today I just feel the care and unity,” commented the individual, who asked not to be named.

Having called Bondi for decades, he joined the swim on the following day and has sought to take back the beach as his own.

“It felt like asserting a presence, it’s therapeutic,” he said.

The Guiding Spirit of Lifesaving

Gene Ross, a veteran trainer, spent the period of reflection beside his just-trained son, considering the togetherness his club had demonstrated in the days following Sunday.

“Carrying out the tragedy here … led Australia to rally behind the people.”

Scores of rescuers laughed and cried together as they made their way to their surf clubs and through the park where their fellow members saved lives on Sunday.

Dozens more remained on the shore, on duty to help people going back into the ocean.

“We’re here for everybody and that’s the ethos of surf livesaving,” Ross said.

“That’s what we do as lifesavers: we head into the crisis.”