Bondi Westfield stabbings: 'Anniversary trauma' looms one year after shopping centre massacre

Commemorating the Bondi Junction massacre could prompt further trauma but is essential for healing one year on from the tragedy, experts say.

Sunday marks a year since Australia’s worst mass killing in nearly a decade claimed the lives of six people at a Westfield shopping centre in Sydney’s east.

Joel Cauchi, 40, injured at least another 10 people including an infant before being shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott minutes later.

Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Yixuan Cheng, 27 and security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, were killed in the attack on April 13, 2024.

The community’s response in the days after the attack and photos from a candlelight vigil have been included on commemorative display boards temporarily installed in nearby Oxford Street Mall.

The shopping centre’s owners will place a floral tribute inside the centre.

NSW Premier Chris Minns and Governor Margaret Beazley will lay flowers at the scene on Sunday along with local mayor William Nemesh and other officials.

Welfare support officers will be available as the community is invited to reflect on the tragedy.

“It’s only been a year, it hasn’t been that long for us,” Hair Royale salon owner Bill Mohana told AAP.

His salon has moved from the centre.

He and his staff did not feel able to continue working there after hiding in the back room, listening to screams and gunshots.

The anniversary will be a raw milestone for some people and could prompt “anniversary trauma”, psychologist Maria Kangas told AAP.

“It’s quite a varied response but it is quite a salient response particularly on a first anniversary,” the head of Macquarie University psychological sciences said.

“Just even the thought of the anniversary coming up this weekend could set off physiological responses in the body, like panic symptoms, they could be more irritable, they may be even a little more withdrawn.”

The violent nature of the event can cause greater stress responses than other traumatic incidents, such as natural disasters.

“Because it’s been committed by another person - a violent act that has come out of the blue, unexpected - it re-activates primal trauma fear responses in all of us,” Professor Kangas said.

“A sense of safety has been threatened.”

But the anniversary event is also an opportunity for further healing for the community along with the individuals and families directly affected.

Commemorating the tragedy is an important part of coping, psychiatrist Ian Hickie said.

“Denial doesn’t help,” the co-director of Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Centre told AAP.

“It’s no use pretending it didn’t happen - and anniversaries can serve that useful purpose

“Community support really matters in terms of minimising the psychological harm ... families and communities supporting each other is much more important than professional support.”

An inquest will begin examining the massacre later in April.

It will probe Cauchi’s mental illness and treatment, past interactions with police, and the response from centre management and emergency services among other issues.

Lifeline 13 11 14 / beyondblue 1300 22 4636.