Bondi Beach mass shooting: One month on, survivors still relive the carnage

Golda Dunn struggles to drive a car any more. Her mind keeps dragging her back to the evening of December 14 when she watched friends shot on Bondi Beach.

One month after Australia’s worst terrorist attack, the survivors have not moved on. Far from it.

Over and over again Ms Dunn, a member of the Jewish group that organised the ill-fated Chabad by the Sea celebration, relives the six minutes of terror. She questions why she did not do more to alert friends the cracks piercing the balmy afternoon were not fireworks but bullets.

“Because I had my kids there I tried to escape as soon as possible,” she said today. “Maybe I could have got people out with my voice. Like a watch dog.”

Uncertainty

There was no official service on Wednesday to mark the first-month anniversary of the attack. That has been reserved for a national day of mourning on January 22, a Thursday, when government flags will fly at half-mast across Australia.

Before then, Anthony Albanese and Coalition leader Sussan Ley will open an early session of Parliament on Monday with speeches dedicated to the victims - speeches that will help Australians understand more about those who fell celebrating an ancient festival of peace.

Sydney’s 40,000-strong Jewish community is grateful for the support of their fellow Australians but uncertain about its future, according to David Ossip, the president of the NSW Board of Jewish Deputies.

Survival stories continue to emerge from that day, including a father who this week explained on Facebook that, certain he was about to die, he positioned his body to shield his young daughter from bullets.

NSW Premier Chris Minns suggested on Wednesday morning that the small concrete bridge the two gunmen used for the attack be demolished. The bridge’s fate seems a small detail for a community which does not know if it will ever feel safe to hold an outdoor event in Sydney again.

Could have been worse

While the doomed Chabad by the Sea celebration was taking place, there was a much larger Jewish celebration a few kilometres away at Dover Heights. Hearing on their radios of the carnage at Bondi, Jewish security guards immediately placed 2500 people into lockdown, including several Jewish leaders and state Liberal leader Kellie Sloan.

Trucks were driven onto the field to provide physical barriers for the crowds, who were terrified that they too were about to be attacked. Many took shelter in nearby homes, where they were stuck for hours, not knowing if it was safe to go outside.

Jewish leaders have concluded the death toll would have been far higher if that event was targeted.

The little-known Dover Heights incident added to the trauma of Jews from that day, and helps explain why so many remain uncertain about their lives in Australia despite the support the have and are receiving from across society.

“The Jewish Community has been deeply moved by the way in which Australians from all walks of life gave wrapped their arms around us in the aftermath of the attack and offered support in myriad ways,” Mr Ossip said.

‘Ghoulish reminder’

Mr Minns on Wednesday appointed of two coordinator generals — Multicultural NSW chief executive Joseph La Posta and NSW Jewish Board of deputies chief executive Michele Goldman — to help victims access government compensation and other services.

“It’s not going to be straightforward,” he said. “Recovering after a horrible terrorism event like this is different for different people and different families. Some will do it reasonably quickly and perhaps even easily, for others it may take months or years to get back on their feet.”

On Thursday evening, the Waverley Council plans to to consider if the heritage-listed century-old bridges should remain as they are “reaching the end of their useful life and require replacement within several years”.

Mr Minns told reporters he did not want the bridge to be a “ghoulish reminder” of the attack. But he said it would be up to the council in consultation with the families of victims.

“There are many beautiful ideas being shared, but taking our time to hear everyone’s views – especially those of grieving families – is the right thing to do,” Waverley Council Mayor William Nemesh said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also in Sydney on Wednesday and was involved in several private meetings related to the Bondi attack.

In a letter published in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, Mr Albanese said Australians will never forget the victims — which included 10-year-old Matilda.

“Australians will never forget the victims of the deadliest terrorist attack on our soil,” Mr Albanese wrote.

Ms Dunn, a Russian immigrant, did not move to Australia 20 years ago to live separately to her new country. Today, she is still trying to understand why her people were ambushed at a beach that represents the best of her adopted country.

“I never wanted to be known as Jewish,” she said. “I always wanted to be Australian. We are all Australians. I feel that only us were targeted. Only Jewish people were targeted. No one else was.”

More than 830 people attended the dedicated Bondi Community Hub to help since it was established in late December, to offer counselling and financial help and advice.

NSW’s Victim Support Services have also received more than 350 applications relating to the attack and Service NSW have supported more than 230 businesses.