‘This is our church’: Scores of Surf lifesavers Come together to Remember Shooting Victims.

Looking out at the ocean on Bondi coast, arm in arm with close to a thousand other volunteers, Lockie Cook let himself feel the grief of a community’s most traumatic week in recent history.

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

Surf lifesavers assembled by the score on that morning to hold two minutes of silence and honour those lost in Sunday’s attack.

Babies, grandparents, neighbours and schoolmates clad in distinctive lifesaving gear held each other, forming a chain running from the crescent-shaped beach’s northern edge to its southern point.

“The big thing we've learned from this is just how much this place signifies to me,” he said.

“Here is our spiritual ground … It is vital we unite and really heal.”

An Interval of Quiet Contemplation

At that morning, the two minutes’ silence was announced by a voice at the beach’s main patrol tower, behind which were placed rows of tributes.

“120 seconds can be a an eternity but take this time for introspection,” he advised.

“Hold hands with the soul next to you, look inward and think about the families affected so we can grow back stronger for this community.”

Attendees stared at their feet or to the horizon as locals, beachgoers and dignitaries observed. The sole audible things were the ocean's rhythm, a distant canine cry and a whirring rescue helicopter, which circled along the coastline as the quiet ended.

Reclaiming the Beach

Friends and families slowly came together in an embrace and applaud their colleagues at the opposite end of the beach as acclamation erupted from the watching crowd.

This was one more demonstration of the rescuers working to strengthen the community this difficult period, noted one individual, a local of the north club and a person who assisted on the day of the attack.

“Right now, I sense the care and unity,” said the man, who requested privacy.

Having made his home in Bondi for most of his years, he participated in the swim on in the days after and has worked to reclaim the beach as his own.

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

The Ethos of Rescue

Gene Ross, a experienced trainer, spent the moments’ silence standing by his recently qualified son, considering the togetherness his club had shown every day since Sunday.

“Carrying out the tragedy here … led Australia to come and support the people.”

Hundreds of rescuers experienced a mix of emotions together as they walked back to their surf clubs and through the green space where their colleagues performed rescues on Sunday.

A significant number stayed on the water's edge, prepared to assist people returning to the ocean.

“We’re here for everybody and that’s the guiding spirit of lifesaving,” Ross stated.

“This is our purpose as lifesavers: we move toward the emergency.”