North Hobart retailers try to move on from tragedy one year ago

ON North Hobart’s vibrant restaurant strip, one store sits closed and silent. The lettering on the North Hobart Grocer’s awning remains, but the bustle is gone. For those who pass by, it’s a constant reminder of the tragedy that unfolded a year ago.

Gemma Mescan, of Raincheck Lounge, described the events of a year ago as surreal. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

ON North Hobart’s vibrant restaurant strip, one store sits closed and silent.

The lettering on the North Hobart Grocer’s awning remains, but the bustle is gone.

For those who pass by, it is a constant reminder of the tragedy that unfolded inside the grocery store a year ago.

Much-loved storekeeper Voula Delios had spent three decades of her life working long hours in the shop that would be the scene of her brutal murder.

“It was just surreal,” said Raincheck Lounge’s Gemma Mescan, who was making coffee next door on July 23 last year.

“Even the weather was really weird that day.

“There was just something in the air.”

North Hobart, the city’s melting pot of artists, foodies and colourful identities, lost more than a local institution that day.

The carefree little cousin of Melbourne’s Lygon Street or Sydney’s Norton Street was thrust suddenly into the gritty world of a modern city.

“It was a wake-up call,” Uniting Church minister Jeff Savage said.

“There were businesses where I could have walked straight in behind the counter, helped myself and walked out.

“The people who owned the businesses wouldn’t have been any the wiser.”

Residents lay flowers outside the North Hobart Grocer, where Voula Delios died. Picture: KIM EISZELE

In the days following the tragedy, some shops closed their doors as staff came to terms with the violence that had come so close.

Fearful employees found turning up to work difficult — some were escorted to their cars by police and one told the Sunday Tasmanian she caught taxis the short distance home for six months.

“It affected some people very badly because they were here on the day or were working afterwards,” charity volunteer Ang Kaufman said.

“It makes you feel a bit vulnerable, the fact that she was working alone and sometimes people are working alone nearby.

“It did bring it home that we’re just as vulnerable as anyone else alone.”

Distraught locals sought comfort in charity stores and at a debrief organised by Reverend Savage’s church.

It sowed the seeds of a community, usually known for its individualism, coming together.

“I don’t know if it’s something you really get over,” Reverend Savage said.

“They’ve probably come to terms with an event that has shaped and formed who they are.

“How or what you do with that, who knows?”

What traders decided to do with it was band together.

Out of the tragedy was born the North Hobart Traders Association, a group determined to look after each other better and ensure everything was done to prevent a repeat.

“People haven’t forgotten and it’s still talked about,” spokesman and State Cinema owner John Kelly said.

“There’s a definite sadness about exactly what happened that tragic day.

“Some good has come out of that tragedy.

“It’s galvanised the community, particularly the traders’ community.”

Michael Delios with his mother Voula Delios.

The group used funds from the Hobart City Council to start a website, complete with a members’ forum to discuss their concerns.

Police addressed traders in the days after the attack, advising them to upgrade security systems.

Most businesses on the strip have since installed cameras, but they are confident the attack was a random, one-off incident.

“It can happen anywhere in the world and it’s tragic of course,” Mr Kelly said.

“But to happen in this community, this non-violent area, that’s what made it such a shocking tragedy.

“The place is calm and local friendly, it’s not a tourist strip per se.

“It’s nothing like the violence of Salamanca.”

North Hobart has always been able to hang tough, but it’s been through a particularly tough period.

Late last year, in unrelated incidents, the Peacock Centre mental health clinic was destroyed by fire and, two months before Mrs Delios’s murder, Olivia Gillie’s nearby pharmacy was robbed at knifepoint.

“We were just recovering from that and then this happened,” Ms Gillie said.

“It was a pretty tough year for North Hobart.

“[It has made us] a bit more wary and a bit more cautious.

“It heightened the awareness of safety and security and looking out for each other.”

Police say offences “against the person” in North Hobart increased from 40 in 2014-15 to 59 in 2016-17, but numbers fluctuate.

Patrols were stepped up in the weeks after Mrs Delios’s death but locals complain they have since dropped off.

Inspector Adrian Bodnar said they remained part of police’s “usual patrol patterns”.

“This includes increased patrols at night and weekends and other times when the area is busiest,” he said.

Police attend North Hobart Grocer, North Hobart. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

Hobart council Greens alderman Helen Burnet, who lives locally, said women continued to feel safe walking around the suburb at night.

“We have to ask the question — is this one-in-a-million situation enough to prompt a heavy security presence or do we see it for what it is?” she said.

With almost 50 eateries, the area’s popularity shows no signs of declining, and parking on Friday and Saturday nights is by far its most pressing problem.

Raincheck Lounge recently changed hands and new co-owner Emma Davis, a former regular, is positive.

“We are very excited about the future and see huge potential,” she said.

It has highlighted another loss caused by the tragedy — the lack of a local grocery store.

The Delios family’s shop was recently put back on the rental market, with strong interest already.

“It probably is too much of a reminder,” local businessman and alderman Marti Zucco said.

“Once the site is revamped or another business goes in there, that will assist in moving on more quickly.”

A memorial to Mrs Delios has been proposed for the nearby Swan St park, with a plaque and olive tree being considered.

But the real memorial might be the return of the grocery store, with the family determined it again perform the same community role it did for more than three decades.

“As long as it is a grocery-cum-deli, that would meet the wishes of the family,” agent Rob Davies said.