‘Indescribable love’: Ashlee Good opened up on motherhood hours before tragedy

On Saturday, Ashlee Good posted a photograph of herself on social media wearing exercise gear, smiling widely with her baby on her hip.

The 38-year-old often shared pictures of her young family and meditations on motherhood: the endless nights and blurry days, the joy, the anxiety, the “indescribable love”.

Ashlee Good posted this image to Instagram hours before she and her daughter became victims of the Bondi Junction attack.Credit: Instagram

“9 months out vs 9 months in,” she wrote in her final post on Instagram, referring to her daughter’s age and the length of pregnancy.

Within hours, Good had become a victim of one of the most shocking acts of violence in NSW history, after 40-year-old Joel Cauchi began stabbing visitors to the Westfield shopping centre in Bondi Junction.

Cauchi, who was shot dead by a police officer at the scene, fatally wounded one man and five women.

Good died of her injuries at St Vincent’s Hospital.

Dawn Singleton has been identified as a victim of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.Credit: Facebook

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was important that leaders unite in their grief over the attacks in solidarity of those who had lost loved ones and praised the heroism of Good, who sought help for her injured baby before herself.

“This is a tragedy that should never have occurred,” he said. “That young mother has shown the extraordinary spirit that mothers have.”

Jade Young was another victim of Bondi Junction attacks.

Dawn Singleton, the daughter of Australian ad man and entrepreneur John “Singo” Singleton, also lost her life. The 25-year-old, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Technology Sydney, had been working for the e-commerce fashion company White Fox.

The principal of Kambala School in Sydney’s Rose Bay, Jane Danvers, paid tribute to Singleton as a valued former student, in a message to parents. “We extend our sincere condolences to her family and acknowledge that the loss of a family member from such a random act must be exceptionally hard to comprehend,” Danvers wrote.

A third victim has been revealed to be Jade Young, a mother of two girls from Bellevue Hill.

Young grew up in the Illawarra, attended the University of NSW and became a successful architect. She studied at the Architectural Association School in London and was a specialist in building conservation, working with heritage buildings in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. She was an active member of her daughters’ school community.

Bondi Junction stabbing victim Faraz Ahmed Tahir moved to Sydney about eight months ago and had only recently begun work as a security guard. Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia

On Sunday, the president of Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, of which Young was an active member, sent an email to members informing them of her death.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the loss of member, Jade Young,” it said.

“[Young’s] family are involved and much-loved members and contributors to the club, most notably in the nipper and cadet programs. On behalf of Bronte Surf Lifesaving Club, we extend our deepest condolences to the Mclaughlin family.

“Many club members will be affected by the loss of Jade and the impact of this senseless and tragic event will affect each of us differently over time.” Club members were offered counselling.

Two of the victims were visiting from overseas and had no family in Australia, police said. The high proportion of female victims is one of the lines of inquiry being pursued by investigators.

The man who died was security guard Faraz Ahmed Tahir, a 30-year-old from Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community confirmed on Sunday.

“He had so many hopes and dreams for his future,” friend Shajar Ahmad told the Herald.

Bondi Junction stabbing victim Pikria Darchia, 55.Credit: NSW Police

He said Tahir, having entered Australia througha refugee program, had moved to Sydney from Queensland about eight months ago and had only worked four to five shifts at Westfield. Saturday was his first day shift.

Pikria Darchia, 55, was the fifth victim to be identified. Darchia was originally from Tbilisi in Georgia, and a LinkedIn profile suggests she was an artist.

Good’s baby daughter, who was stabbed in the attack, remains in Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick in a serious but stable condition.

One man who witnessed the attack told 9News: “The baby got stabbed. The mum got stabbed and the mum came over with the baby and threw it at me and [I] was holding the baby. I was holding the baby, it looked pretty bad.”

The man’s brother, also on the scene, described them as “holding the baby and trying to compress the baby and staying with the mother, trying to compress the blood”.

Good often shared pictures of her young family and meditations on motherhood.

They called for shirts from the clothing store where they were sheltering to help staunch the bleeding.

Good’s family released a statement on Sunday, praising the efforts of the two men “who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not – words cannot express our gratitude”.

“We are reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister,
partner, friend, all-round outstanding human and so much more,” the family said.

“We appreciate the well wishes and thoughts of members of the Australian public who have expressed an outpouring of love for Ashlee and our baby girl. We can report that after hours of surgery yesterday, our baby is currently doing well.”

The family said they had been distressed at the decision by some media outlets to use pictures of Good, her partner and their baby without consent overnight. The Herald did not publish a story about Good last night, has not published pictures of her partner and has blurred images of her daughter.

“Brightest smile. Always with the kindest of words. A permanent glow. Remarkably grateful”: Friends have been paying tribute to Good on social media.Credit: Instragram

High-profile defamation lawyer Rebekah Giles was with Good, a close friend, before the stabbing. Giles had left the scene but raced back to her friend after reports of chaos inside the shopping centre. She is supporting the family.

“Beyond devastated to wake up to the news,” Good’s friend Kelly Carthy posted on social media. “You are one of the most beautiful humans I have had the pleasure to know. So full of life and love for anyone and everyone who came across your path.”

“Fly high, angel,” wrote another of Good’s friends, Diana Taranto. “Brightest smile. Always with the kindest of words. A permanent glow. Remarkably grateful.”

Bondi Rescue lifeguard Andy Reid, who was among shoppers who rushed to help the injured, told Seven’s Sunrise on Sunday that he had known Good.

Good’s baby daughter was taken to hospital after the attack.

“She just wanted to be a mum, and she finally got given that opportunity, and now it’s been taken away from her,” Reid said.

Good was the daughter of former Australian rules footballer Kerry Good, who played for North Melbourne in the 1970s and ’80s.

North Melbourne President Dr Sonja Hood said Ashlee was “known and loved by many in the North Melbourne community”.

“To learn later that Ashlee and her daughter were victims in this tragedy really brings something like this close to home,” Dr Hood said.

“Our thoughts and condolences go to all those impacted by the awful events, especially to Ashlee’s partner Daniel Flanagan, Kerry and Dian, Ashlee’s mother Denise, and Ashlee’s extended family and friends.”

North Melbourne players will wear black armbands in their match against Geelong on Sunday afternoon.

Having previously worked as an osteopath on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and at Bondi Junction, Good had recently returned from maternity leave to her job at DocuSign, the electronic signature and contract company.

“It’s not lost on me what a privilege it is to become a parent,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “And then to be gifted some extra time away from work to spend with your child ... it’s very special.”

In other social media posts, she described motherhood as a “surreal experience” in which she became a new version of herself, “one that’s needed to show up for her”. She marvelled at the “dichotomy of it all”: feeling proud and yet overwhelmed, exhausted and yet joyous.

“It’s almost too much to put into words,” she wrote. “The love. The happiness. The fears. The new world. The new me...”

Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke asked people to respect the privacy of victims’ families.

With Perry Duffin

If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).

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