General news
24 April, 2025
Annabelle and Rachael’s lifelong Bondi bond
West Wyalong connection amid Bondi carnage
IN the sterile stillness of a change room at Bondi Junction Westfield in April 2024, as screams echoed through the corridors and sirens blared outside, two women who had never met before comforted a number of young terrified shoppers caught up in the Bondi Junction massacre.
Amid the chaos of one of Australia’s darkest days - a stabbing rampage that left six people dead and many more injured - two women, Rachael Bolte and Annabelle Davis, found themselves with their daughters, trapped inside a clothing store, desperately seeking refuge from the violence unfolding just metres away. Pulling the curtains, huddling on the floor, they waited in silence, unsure of what would happen next. As they sat there quiescent, searching for information online, a brief whispered conversation revealed both were connected to West Wyalong.
Rachael said, “we didn’t want anyone to feel alone so we crammed as many as we could fit into our cubicle offering support, sharing phones to connect with family, cuddling each other and trying to remain calm.”
Both women were in Sydney visiting and shopping with university aged daughters, said the bond they formed in that moment was instant and unshakable.
“It was quite surreal. While we experienced devastation we also saw the best in humanity - strangers comforting each other, young shop assistants bravely dealing with unimaginable circumstances,” said Rachael.
In the days that followed, both women despite spirits shaken, had a newfound friendship forged in trauma. Their story is just one of many that emerged from the tragedy - a day marked by unimaginable horror but also by acts of courage, compassion, and resilience. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb APM acknowledged those very qualities in her official statement marking the one-year anniversary of the Bondi Junction attack.
“We remember the victims of one of the most horrific events in Australian history. Our hearts are with their families who continue to endure unimaginable grief and do their best to carry on.”
She paid tribute to the many civilians, first responders, and police officers who sprang into action - “hundreds of people, including police, paramedics, and civilians, were all first responders on this horrific day. They are heroes. The memory and the trauma of this day will never be forgotten.”
For Rachael and Annabelle, those memories live on not just in fear and sadness, but also in solidarity and sisterhood.
“The victims families will be in our hearts forever and hopefully no one has to experience such devastation again,” Annabelle said. ”
As West Wyalong quietly honours the anniversary, two of its own remind us that even in dark places, human connection can light the way.
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