Community lay hearts to remember victims

Dozens turned out to create flower hearts in memory of the 50 Muslim victims of the Christchurch shooting

IN MOURNING: Lucy Hackett lay flowers at the memorial. Picture: Kathryn Lewis

HEARTS were laid yesterday afternoon to commemorate the lives lost in a hate-filled attack against New Zealand's Muslim community.

Grafton community members gathered at Memorial park, hands and baskets filled with flowers, leaves and anything they could find to memorialise the 50 victims.

The hill at Memorial Park, a part of Grafton used by families and residents to come together was transformed into an array of colourful love hearts, representing thoughts sent to Friday's victims.

Everything came together quickly, organiser Judy Hackett said, having made the decision at early that morning.

"We need to do it now, not later, with so many people worrying about Christchurch and thinking of people there," she said.

"We just really wanted to come together as a community and show some love and humility."

"We wanted to make it really low impact, so it will just fly away."

"We encouraged people to bring something just out of their garden or just something that was part of Grafton."

Ms Hackett said it is important for the community to keep the victims in their thoughts and use the tragic act as a reminder to ourselves.

"With what is coming through on the news now, we are getting real stories of real families, and the heartbreak, that is what has really prompted us to do this," she said.

"We absolutely need to remember the victims and look in our hearts and just keep checking ourselves and making sure that we are the people we want to be."

Originally published as Community lay hearts to remember victims