Child victims of Cairns massacre remembered
The eight young children who were killed in a Cairns home will be remembered a year on from the horrific event.
Hundreds of people are expected to gather on Saturday in the Cairns suburb of Manoora where the four girls and four boys, aged between two and 14, were found dead in the home in December 2014.
A Saturday afternoon concert is planned at Brothers Leagues Club, followed by a pastoral service and tree planting ceremony at nearby Green Park on Sunday.
Organiser Michael White says the family has been overwhelmed by community support but is urging people to be respectful of traditional Torres Strait Islander grieving processes.
Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday, 38, the mother of seven of the children and aunt to the eighth, is facing eight counts of murder in court.
The killings sparked an outpouring of grief across the country when they were discovered on December 19 last year.
Memorial services in the immediate wake of the tragedy saw large crowds, many dressed in red, assemble in North Queensland.
Among those paying their respects were then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and Cairns Mayor Bob Manning.
"All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened," Mr Abbott said shortly after the murders were discovered.
"This is an unspeakable crime - these are trying days for our country."
