On Cronulla Beach and in churches, Sydneysiders have joined the rest of the nation in observing a minute's silence today as a mark of respect for more than 160,000 lives claimed by the Boxing Day tsunami.
At 11.59am, Australians around the country fell silent, exactly three weeks to the minute after the earthquake struck.
Brotherhood of Men and Women Mourns Tsunami Victims
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Ring of Remembrance: Minute's silence brings us together
Can a day of mourning add anything to what people are already doing? Professor Richard Bryant, a psychologist from the University of New South Wales, thinks it can. "Formally recognising the day gives a lot more weight to the recognition that this terrible thing did happen," he says. "It gives more weight to a communal sense that we care."
It is only the second national day of mourning in Australian history. The first was held on October 20, 2002, to commemorate the Bali bombing. A day of mourning has no legal status; there was no such commemoration for the 1977 Granville train disaster, Ash Wednesday or the Port Arthur massacre. It seems that we have one when the government deems it appropriate to the public mood.
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