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

Looking out at the ocean on Bondi shoreline, side by side with nearly 1,000 other volunteers, Lockie Cook opened up to the grief of a area's harrowing week in living memory.

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

Volunteer lifeguards assembled by the score on the weekend to participate in two minutes’ silence and honour those lost in the tragic shooting.

Infants, elders, locals and classmates dressed in red-and-yellow uniforms embraced one another, making a human chain stretching from the famous shoreline's northern edge toward its southern tip.

“The key realization that’s come out of this is just the depth to which this community matters to me,” he said.

“Here is our spiritual ground … It is vital we unite and begin to mend.”

A Moment of Quiet Contemplation

At that morning, the moment of quiet was called for by a man at the beach’s main patrol tower, around which were placed rows of tributes.

“120 seconds can be a very long time but please look within,” he said.

“Join hands with the individual next to you, close your eyes and think about the loved ones grieving so we can rebuild with strength for this beach family.”

Volunteers looked down or to the ocean as locals, beachgoers and dignitaries watched on. The sole audible things were waves on the shore, a lone dog’s bark and a overhead rescue helicopter, which passed along the shore as the silence lifted.

Reclaiming the Beach

Loved ones and colleagues slowly hugged one another and applaud their colleagues at the far end of the beach as acclamation rose from the watching crowd.

This was one more demonstration of the volunteers working to bring together the community this week, stated one participant, a local of the beach's north side and a first responder on the day of the attack.

“Today I just feel the compassion and solidarity,” said the participant, who wished to remain anonymous.

Having made his home in Bondi for most of his years, he participated in the swim on the following day and has sought to take back the beach as his own.

“It was like asserting a presence, it’s therapeutic,” he added.

The Ethos of Lifesaving

Gene Ross, a experienced lifesaving teacher, spent the period of reflection next to his newly certified son, thinking about the togetherness his club had demonstrated every day since Sunday.

“Choosing to do the attack here … prompted Australia to rally behind the people.”

Scores of rescuers laughed and cried together as they walked back in the direction of their patrol bases and through the green space where their teammates saved lives on Sunday.

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

“We’re here for everybody and that’s the ethos of beach rescue,” Ross stated.

“It is our calling as lifesavers: we move toward the danger.”