Thousands unite at Melbourne vigil for Christchurch terror victims

More than 5000 people have stood united to lay flowers and light candles for the 50 victims of the Christchurch terror attack at a vigil on the steps of Melbourne’s State Library.

Brenton Tarrant might have planned his killing spree in meticilous detail but he could never have foreseen this.

On the streets of Melbourne, thousands of kilometres from where he unleashed choas in Christchurch, thousands stood united.

Beneath the statue of Sir Redmond Barry, the colonial QC who once sentenced Australia’s most famous bushranger to death, the Muslim Call to Prayer was promptly followed by strong statements of Christian faith and then, an emotional Kiwi haka.

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A mourner joins thousands in an emotional Kiwi haka at a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards. Picture: Jason Edwards

More than 5000 people attend a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

A young man in a neat white shirt, clung to the Bible and cried.

Another threw down his yellow Fila hoodie, kneeled toward Mecca and prayed.

It was the obscene act of hatred that brought each of them here — one that played out like a video game and repeated in the minds of anybody who saw it.

Yet on Monday night, on the steps of the State Library, there was a collective sense that those beliefs that so often divide, are just as capable of bringing people together.

More than 5000 people came to lay flowers and light candles for the 50 victims of the New Zealand terror attack.

Tributes left at a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

Two women comfort each other at a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

Thousands attend a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

Among them stood imams, rabbis, pastors, clerics and monks, all for a moment, stripped of difference.

For there could be no belief system that could truely make sense of the kind of insanity that had unfolded across the Tasman. So they attempted it together.

ICV president Mohamed Mohideen said the Islamic community of Melbourne had been humbled by the support they had received from those equally shocked by evil.

“We need to stand up together,” he said. “Freedom of speech is every human right but with that also comes responsibility. Love and hope are two words I want to believe in.”

National Council of Churches in Australia president Bishop Philip Huggins meets Islamic Council of Victoria president Mohamed Mohideen at the vigil. Picture: Jason Edwards

Flowers left at a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

A woman watches on with thousands at a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

Standing only a block away from where similar acts of terror had shaken a city, Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the people of Melbourne grieved in equal measure.

“You have distinguished yourselves by making the effort to be here,” Cr Capp told the crowd. “This evening we unite as a community determined to show that hatred and intolorence will never define our city.

“By coming together we stand in solidarity with the city of Christchurch at one of its darkest moments and here in the heart of our city we are sending our deepest sympathy, love and compassion across the Tasman.”

Mourners at the vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

Victorian Governor Linda Dessau admitted she wished the thousands had only been gathered for another reason.

“How reassuring it is to see such a large crowd gathered here and how very much I wish we weren’t here at all,” she said.

But as this city had done so many times before, she said there was comfort to be found in clinging together.

“It helps us remember that people are kind and good and that our differences make us richer and together we are stronger.”

A girl places flowers for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

A mother and her child watch on with thousands at a vigil for victims of the Christchurch massacre in front of Melbourne’s State Library. Picture: Jason Edwards

But this night would not be without a political message or two. Greens Leader Richard De Natale said the extreme views of the right could no longer be tolerated.

The otherwise silent crowd sprung to their feet and applauded as he warned there was no place in parliament for a certain rogue senator and he warned the media had to take some responsibility too.

But Race Commissioner Chin Tan said this was not the night to point fingers.

It was for grief alone.

“There is nothing wrong with shedding a tear,” he said. “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of imperfection but rather power.

“They are a message to us about overwhelming grief but also about unspeakable love.”

But perhaps, Jasbir Singh, president of the Sikh community, summed it up best. He spoke of shared understanding between people of all religions who ultimately stand before the same Higher Power. We are but all the same.

“If we cannot see God in all things,” he said. “We cannot see God at all.”