Dozens of bouquets and hundreds of moments of sorrow: Inside Westfield Bondi Junction

Two small bouquets of flowers – one red, one pale pink – sit in the right window of the Chanel store at Westfield Bondi Junction. An unopened card sits next to them: it is addressed to “Dawnie”, Dawn Singleton, one of the six victims of last Saturday’s stabbing attack. Another five bouquets sit by the second Chanel entrance.

As the doors to the shopping centre opened to the public for the first time since Saturday’s horror attack that also injured more than a dozen people, a harrowing silence befell the site. The smell of cleaning products was apparent.

Hundreds walked through the centre on the day of reflection, declared by Westfield management, before trading resumes on Friday.

Bondi Westfield on Thursday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Inside the centre, music was turned off and talking kept to a minimum. The loudest thing was the hum of the escalators.

Throughout the day, hundreds of mourners, many dressed in black, gathered around an open space on the fourth floor to place flowers and write notes of condolence. Dozens of white flowers and wreaths had been laid there by Westfield management before opening.

With no ads being displayed, all digital signage had been replaced by a single black ribbon.

“We come together to remember those who lost their lives here, Saturday 13th April 2024,” signage around the shops read.

People have paid tribute to the six shoppers murdered at Westfield Bondi Junction last weekend.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The lights of most stores were switched off, with no staff inside. Some shops brought in staff to talk ahead of Friday’s reopening, while others remained as they were left on Saturday.

Dozens of teary-eyed Woolworths staff walked up from the store with flowers to place at the memorial.

In silence, two Boost Juice attendants stabilised a wreath on an easel at the front of their store.

Outside Eckersley’s art shop, where police officer Amy Scott shot the offender Joel Cauchi dead, a police officer cried as she spoke with two members of the public.

Dozens of volunteers from the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Lifeline, as well as chaplains from NSW Police, wandered through the shopping centre and spoke with locals.

Local MP Kellie Sloane fought back tears as she joined mourners outside Tommy Hilfiger, where the tributes were building.

Anna Vozzo, who lives nearby and has shopped at the centre for years, said she walked through the centre to begin the process of healing after tragedy.

“What I’m feeling is a bit of survivor’s guilt,” she said. “But I consoled myself with the bravery and the courage that people had. That’s what’s keeping me going.”

People enter Westfield Bondi Junction as the doors open for a day of reflection.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

“I kept saying to myself [when returning to the centre], ‘Don’t let them win’. I don’t particularly know who ‘they’ are, but I’m not going to let them win. This was my happy place. It always was, and I think it will continue to be.”

Doors to the centre slid open at 11am. Just before, NSW Premier Chris Minns joined Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Elliott Rusanow, chief executive of centre operator Scentre Group.

The company had earlier on Thursday announced it would waive rent for store tenants from Saturday to Friday, inclusive.

Outside the centre, federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton visited the scene of the ever-growing floral memorial and wrote a condolence note.

“To the many people affected by this horrible act, please know Australians in their millions have you in their thoughts and prayers,” he wrote.

“We live in the greatest country in the world and we unite at a period of national grief to emerge stronger.”

If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.