‘This is our sanctuary’: A multitude of Lifesavers Gather to Remember Shooting Victims.

Looking out at the surf on Bondi coast, arm in arm with nearly 1,000 other volunteers, Lockie Cook allowed himself to experience the anguish of a community’s most traumatic week in modern times.

“I feel like that guard’s just dropping,” he remarked.

Volunteer lifeguards came together in large numbers on that morning to participate in two minutes of silence and remember those killed in Sunday’s attack.

From the very young to the elderly, alongside friends and neighbours dressed in their iconic colours held each other, forming a line stretching from the iconic bay's northern edge all the way to its southern tip.

“The big thing we've learned from this is just the extent that this place signifies to me,” he expressed.

“This beach is our place of worship … It is vital we unite and really heal.”

An Interval of Shared Sorrow

At 8.15am, the two minutes’ silence was initiated by a figure at the beach’s main patrol tower, near which lie rows of flowers.

“A short time can be a very long time but take this time for introspection,” he said.

“Join hands with the person next to you, look inward and think about the families affected so we can grow back stronger for this beach family.”

Volunteers stared at their feet or to the ocean as the community and its leaders observed. All that could be heard were the ocean's rhythm, a single barking dog and a overhead rescue helicopter, which flew along the beachfront as the silence lifted.

Healing on the Sand

Loved ones and colleagues slowly hugged one another and clap for their fellow lifesavers at the other side of the beach as applause rose from the observing onlookers.

This was another example of the lifesavers working to bring together the beachgoers this difficult period, said one individual, a local of the beach's north side and a first responder on that fateful day.

“At this moment, I am filled with the compassion and solidarity,” expressed the man, who wished to remain anonymous.

Having lived at Bondi for most of his years, he joined the community swim on the following day and has worked to reclaim the beach as his own.

“The experience was reclaiming a space, it’s healing,” he shared.

The Guiding Spirit of Service

Gene Ross, a experienced trainer, spent the moments’ silence beside his recently qualified son, thinking about the togetherness his club had exhibited every day since Sunday.

“Choosing to do the tragedy here … invited Australia to rally behind the community.”

A great number of lifesavers laughed and cried together as they returned to their patrol bases and through the park where their teammates helped the injured on Sunday.

Dozens more lingered at the beach, prepared to assist people returning to the water.

“Our duty is to all and that’s the guiding spirit of beach rescue,” Ross affirmed.

“This is our purpose as rescuers: we run to the danger.”