The youngest victim of the Bondi Beach massacre will be farewelled as authorities continue to build their case against an alleged terrorist.
Ten-year-old Matilda, remembered by her school for being a joy to others and choreographing dances on the playground, was among 15 victims killed by two gunmen during Hanukkah celebrations.
A funeral service is due to be held at a memorial hall in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Not far from where she was killed, her parents hailing originally from Ukraine spoke at Bondi Pavilion of their heartbreaking loss.
“I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here,” her mother Valentyna told a swelling crowd surrounded by a sea of floral tributes.
Her father Michael named her Matilda “because she was our firstborn in Australia”.
“I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist.
“So just remember – remember her name.”
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, are accused of using long-arm guns to fire at a crowd of people on Sunday night.
Naveed, who was critically injured after being shot by police and spent days in a coma, was charged on Wednesday with 15 counts of murder – one for each of the victims – and one count of committing a terrorist act.
He did not appear or apply for bail during a brief court hearing and the case was adjourned until April.
His father, a licensed gun owner, died at the scene.
Naveed is also charged with 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder and single counts of discharging a firearm in public, causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist symbol and placing an explosive in or near a building with intent to cause harm.
Early indications pointed to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, NSW Police said.
Investigators were forensically examining “significant digital material” and further search warrants would be executed, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
Attending a memorial at the Chabad of Bondi synagogue alongside Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli on Wednesday evening, former prime minister Scott Morrison said the charges were the first step towards closure.
“Fifty-nine charges is the least, I hope,” he told AAP as he entered the synagogue.
Other victims include an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a retired police officer and a father who ran at the gunmen, hurling a brick, while dozens of others were injured.
Seventeen people remain in hospital, including one in a critical condition.
Four others are critical but stable, including Constable Scott Dyson, who underwent surgery on Wednesday after being wounded in the attack.