Not just a wave but a tsunami of sadness swept over our beloved Bondi Beach on Sunday when 15 members of Australia’s Jewish community were murdered as they celebrated the start of Hanukkah.
The Sydney Opera House is lit up with a Menorah & all flags fly at half mast as we grapple to come to terms with this heinous act of terrorism in our happy-go-lucky, laid-back democracy. Especially at this iconic location, which is associated with family fun.
Bondi Beach is at the heartbeat of Sydney. All year round Sydneysiders start the day with a jog up the sand followed by an invigorating surf. We then head back to the beach after work for a refreshing dip, a nosh on fish and chips, washed down with a beer as we watch the sun set on another perfect day.
When international visitors hit Sydney, I always bring them straight to Bondi, not just for an exhilarating plunge in the foaming breakers of that turquoise bay, but because it encapsulates what is so wonderful about our vibrant, inclusive and diverse society.
Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world. With one in three Aussies born overseas, we’re a human minestrone. And immigrants tend to assimilate quickly to the carefree Aussie way of life. No matter your ethnic background. Because sun worship is our main religion. Liberated from any form of class system, we take people as we find them.
'One of my girlfriends hid under her car as bullets pelleted the asphalt around her'
In fact, Australians pride ourselves on our egalitarianism. Yes, there are people who think they’re superior, but nobody feels inferior. Especially at Bondi Beach. It’s impossible to be intimidated by a ferocious politician or big beast of a broadcaster, legendary movie, pop star or any other celebs, when they’re wandering along the beach in their bathers.
I’ve had conversations with Prime Ministers in their budgie smugglers and swapped gossip with a Booker Prize-winning author in her G-string bikini. I found myself body surfing one day with a gruff investigative journalist who lost his trunks in a huge wipe out wave.
'Terrorism thrives on fear. It aims to spread hatred and division. We must never let it destroy our happy, multicultural democracy'
At Bondi, a “costume drama” doesn’t describe a BBC series with bustles and bonnets. No, it’s the constant fear that, after catching a wave, your budgie smugglers or bikini bottoms may have caught a different wave altogether. All you can hope for at this moment is a seaweed merkin or a sandy fig-leaf of some kind.
Memories of so much fun and frivolity in Bondi’s waves are what make Sunday’s attack all the more traumatising, shocking and unbelievable.
One of my girlfriends hid under her car as bullets pelleted the asphalt around her. Another girlfriend was surfing when a group of panicked British backpackers swam out to cling to her board, afraid to get out of the ocean.
How will Australians ever recover from this trauma? How can Bondi Beach ever again become our favourite playground? And yet we must recover. Terrorism thrives on fear. It aims to spread hatred and division. We must never let it destroy our happy, multi-cultural democracy. But we’ll be smiling through tears.
