Bondi has long been a stage for some of Australia’s best – and worst – moments. As it continues to reel from the Hanukah mass shooting, it’ll always be a place for everyone Bondi exerts a strange gravitational force on the city of Sydney, disproportionate to its 1.2 sq km crescent of sand. It’s a brand name. It’s a dream. It’s a pilgrimage. It’s a church. It’s the gym. It’s a community. It’s a gateway. It’s a baptism. For international tourists coming in, it’s the name they know, where they take off their shoes, walk down to the water and take their first swim in Australian waters. And how about that swim? After the discomfort of a long-haul flight, to take your weary body down to Bondi and jump into the glistening surf, then dry out in the sun while drinking a flat white is to have arrived in Australia not just physically, but also spiritually. Continue reading...