‘This is our church’: A multitude of Surf lifesavers Gather to Pay tribute to Shooting The fallen.

Standing silently toward the surf on Bondi shoreline, arm in arm with hundreds of fellow lifesavers, Lockie Cook allowed himself to experience the grief of a area's most traumatic week in living memory.

“I sense that protective wall is falling,” he stated.

Surf lifesavers came together in large numbers on that morning to observe two minutes’ silence and commemorate those killed in the previous weekend's violence.

Infants, elders, locals and classmates clad in their iconic colours embraced one another, creating a human chain stretching from the crescent-shaped beach’s northern edge all the way to its south end.

“The big thing that’s come out of this is just the extent that this community matters to me,” he shared.

“Here is our spiritual ground … It’s just important we come together again and really heal.”

A Time of Quiet Contemplation

At the appointed hour, the two minutes’ silence was initiated by a figure at the beach’s main patrol tower, around which were placed clusters of tributes.

“A short time can be a an eternity but I urge you to reflect,” he said.

“Hold hands with the person next to you, close your eyes and think about the loved ones grieving so we can emerge more resilient for this community.”

Lifesavers gazed at the sand or to the distance as residents, visitors and officials watched on. The only sounds were waves on the shore, a single barking dog and a whirring rescue helicopter, which circled along the coastline as the moment concluded.

Taking Back the Sand

Friends and families slowly hugged one another and clap for their colleagues at the far end of the beach as acclamation came from the watching crowd.

This was one more demonstration of the volunteers working to unite the beachgoers this week, stated one man, a member of the Jewish community of the beach's north side and a first responder on Sunday.

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

Having lived at Bondi for most of his years, he took part in the community swim on Monday and has sought to take back the beach as his own.

“The experience was asserting a presence, it’s healing,” he added.

The Guiding Spirit of Lifesaving

Gene Ross, a veteran trainer, spent the quiet time standing by his just-trained son, considering the unity his club had demonstrated every day since Sunday.

“The decision to enact the attack here … invited Australia to rally behind the individuals affected.”

Scores of rescuers shared tears and smiles together as they made their way to their clubs and through the area where their colleagues performed rescues on Sunday.

Dozens more lingered at the beach, on duty to help people entering the ocean.

“We serve the entire community and that’s the ethos of beach rescue,” Ross affirmed.

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