The teacher, driver and host who helped strangers take refuge during the Bondi terror attack

It was the perfect day in Bondi.

At local cafe, Lamrock, patrons basked in the sun, drinks in hand, on a relaxed Sunday evening.

A pair danced along to live music, shaking a tambourine emblazoned with the word "love".

Up the road near Icebergs pool, a dinner was being held on an apartment balcony ahead of the busy Christmas period.

The surf was calm and the weather warm as beachgoers flocked to the world-famous landmark on the evening of December 14.

Just 15 minutes later, everything would change.

First there was what sounded like fireworks, then stillness before a crowd started sprinting southwards.

About 6:45pm, father-and-son gunmen began a terror attack that killed 15 people, targeting a Hanukkah event at Archer Park.

In the midst of the bloodshed and horror, the best of humanity was put to the test.

These are the stories of everyday people who stepped up during dark times, and of a community coming together when two individuals sought to tear them apart.

The driver

Chavi was making beach plans for the week ahead when the bangs went off.

Suddenly, a wholesome time surrounded by family and friends became "hell on Earth" at Chanukah by the Sea.

"I look up to the sky thinking, 'Where are the fireworks?' and then suddenly everyone is screaming, 'Down! Down! Down!'" Chavi said.

She jumped to the ground, covering her baby with her body as a human shield, trying to protect him as he was screaming, sweating and had mud going into his eyes.

"I was saying Psalms, saying different Jewish prayers, and at the same time thinking where the hell's the police? Why is this happening? What's going on?" she said.

"My friend who was with me is speaking to her husband and saying, 'I love you' and 'goodbye'."

Chavi propped some crates on top of herself, then placed a packet of baby wipes to the side "just in case a bullet comes through, maybe [it] will protect us".

Later, she would learn the extent of "disaster and the destruction and atrocity", but in the moment leant into her "tunnel vision".

Chavi ran with a friend to a nearby car park, her phone left behind in what would become the crime scene.

Borrowing a phone from a friend's husband, she ran into, Chavi managed to get a hold of her father-in-law, who was already en route to Bondi in his car.

Six children and five adults "piled" into his car — a five-seater — and drove away from the area.

"My father-in-law took home two children who had lost their father, and we had no idea that their father had been murdered."

During the drive, she managed to get through to her husband and when she finally dialled her mother, she "burst into tears".

When Chavi eventually got home about 10pm, her family lit the menorah and celebrated "the miracle of Hanukkah with very heavy hearts" while grieving for those lost.

"Everyone knows everyone, it's a very small community, so I know many of the people that were murdered in cold blood for being Jewish," Chavi said.

"We are forever broken, but we're going to channel all of these emotions … we will continue to shine our light, to be proud Jews."

The host

Andy Hutton saw the terror attack unfold from the south side of Bondi.

"I was actually having a Christmas dinner with friends … and a friend of mine just said, 'There's fireworks' and it's daylight," he said.

The gathering went from "very festive to very still".

They watched "hundreds" of people running on the road and footpath from the balcony.

Mr Hutton shouted out to a couple below, and a woman replied: "Can we please come in, the shooting is going to kill us."

The trio ran down and threw the doors open. They were faced with about 20 people pleading to come in.

"People had left their bags, their car keys, their phones, they had nothing," Mr Hutton said.

He let in people from around the world, including two women found huddling together in fear.

While it crossed his mind the offenders could be anywhere and he "didn't know who we were letting in", he knew it was vital to help.

Mr Hutton ushered people upstairs without a second thought, while his friend rushed into the crowd trying to support more people.

"Then he noticed a crying 10-year-old and a 12-year-old [girls] underneath a car separated from their dad," he said.

"So we picked them up, and I brought them into the house, and we took them in.

Mr Hutton estimates he had more than 20 people in his home, as well as a lost dog found running outside alone.

"We were just trying to gather as many people as we could because people were so petrified … we started serving tea, coffee and water. Like what do you actually do?"

People stayed until midnight, some without cars, shoes, or money to get home otherwise. They dropped off as many back home as they could.

Mr Hutton felt a wave of relief when the young girls were reunited with their father.

"I just keep trying to think of those moments in my head," he reflected.

He says he is speaking out because of how harrowing this has been for Bondi.

"It's just been completely and utterly heartbreaking … and I thought the one thing that can come out of this is how good humans can be in a time of need," he said.

"I looked at my neighbours and I could see them equally trying to get people in … it was just acts of kindness and courage.

"I keep thinking of the good that came out of the wrong, it reassured me of humanity and the good in people."

The teacher

Frankie Lewis was meant to fly back to Queensland on the day of the shootings, but decided last minute to catch up with friends.

It was "magical", she said, to be surrounded by laughter and song in the outdoor seating of Lamrock Cafe.

"The waitresses were dancing as they passed us by … we were all just having a great time."

But the joy was short lived.

"Within seconds, people were just running, screaming … it was just pandemonium," Ms Lewis said.

Ms Lewis says she can't forget the faces in the crowd: A mother with a newborn. An elderly woman. A stranger in a wheelchair.

"Up the road, the shots just kept going, it was so scary and so loud," she said.

She was offered a ride but declined when she saw everyone "running for their lives".

"I was running out in the street and going, 'Come in, you're safe here [in the cafe].'

"All the locals are running to their homes, and they were saying, 'No, no, we're fine, we've got a place to go', but all the tourists they had nowhere to go."

Ms Lewis opened the gate to the cafe's car park, and was later told she pulled 100 people to safety.

She said civilians were hiding under tarps, trembling and "holding each other real tight".

The teacher, who is also a champion surfer, says her school lockdown drills helped her stay level-headed.

"I saw these women were struggling, people were falling on the ground, they were terrified, screaming, crying, traumatised."

She said society needed to protect everyone from hate, and love always won.

The manager

As shots blared, Tom Pontidas's mind went towards his family, his staff and his customers.

He quickly took stock of who was still there and who had managed to flee, as chaos erupted on the streets.

As the cafe's co-owner, Mr Pontidas said he couldn't "leave a sinking ship".

All of a sudden, people streamed from the other direction, causing confusion.

"That's when we realised, 'Uh oh, shit, maybe we should move in. Maybe we should get off the street. We're still on the street!'"

Mr Pontidas turned his attention to the dozens of people safe inside his venue.

"There's people hiding in the shop, toilets, kitchen … people were hiding under cars," he said.

He said people were "hiding in corners" all the way to the back of the cafe, including a pregnant woman in the cool room.

He said it was important no-one was forced to process the tragedy alone.

"The people who've lost loved ones, they're the ones who need the most help, I think.

"But I think everyone who was here is going to have some trauma."

Pointing to busy tables a few days after the attack, he said it was nice to see people healing with the community.

"It's good people are out and talking … you can't lock yourself in the room, going through all these thoughts alone.

"That's why you go to a cafe for to begin with, to share stories … it's touching."

The musician

Sam McGovern was about to perform an encore at the Lamrock before his guitar string snapped.

After a two-and-a-half-hour set, he was forced to pack up about 6:30pm but says he "would have kept playing" otherwise.

"I look back now and I kind of find that a blessing because it was almost like someone was watching over me," Mr McGovern said.

He had just returned from his car to get the last of his gear when he saw an "apocalypse" on Campbell Parade.

"There were hundreds of people running, screaming, the faces of terror — I'd never seen anything like that in my life," he says.

He ran back into the car park and was amazed by the "survival instincts" he saw kick in.

"They found every nook and cranny to hide in," he said of those sheltering.

"I felt safe to know they were going to be alright."

Mr McGovern says he is picking his guitar back up to try to bring the community together after a devastating loss.

"My acts to the world is to bring music, that is my contribution to the love and unification of people.

"I'll be back and doing that soon, but it's very sensitive as well.

"We don't know if tomorrow exists sometimes, I think this is a reminder that we've got to be [in the moment]."