Newsuk newsSydney SiegeKatrina Dawson

Sydney Siege Mourners Are Leaving Lindt Chocolates And Handing Out 'Free Hugs' After Hostage Deaths

Florists Struggling To Keep Up With Demand At Sydney Siege Site
Louise Ridley
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Thousands of people have lain boxes of Lindt chocolates and written chalk messages in Sydney's financial and shopping district to honour the two hostages killed in the siege on Tuesday.

Local florists struggled to keep up with demand as people queued to add to the growing memorial which flooded Martin Place, where a gunman held 17 people hostage inside the Lindt chocolate cafe in a siege ending in the deaths of the hostage taker-and two others.

Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old lawyer and mother of three, and Tori Johnson, the cafe's 34-year-old manager, died when troops stormed the cafe on Tuesday morning.

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Chalk messages spelled out messages of hope and solidarity

One visitor, Michelle Cotterill, held a sign offering 'free hugs' and said she had a steady stream of requests from mourners.

Australians signed memory books for the victims and scribbled messages in coloured chalk on the pavement, including #illridewithyou, the slogan which was tweeted tens of thousands of times after news broke that hostage taker Man Haron Monis was a self-styled Muslim cleric.

Tweeters offered car lifts to people dressed in Muslim clothes, who feared a backlash after the bloody siege.

Flags on Commonwealth buildings in the country flew at half-mast on Tuesday in a sign of respect, and Australia's prime minister Tony Abbott visited Martin Place to pay his respects to the victims of what he called a "absolutely appalling and ugly" incident.

An Australian flag emblazoned with the words, "Vale Tori Johnson" and "Hero," a nod to reports that Johnson brought the standoff to an end by grabbing Monis' shotgun, saving the lives of most of his fellow hostages.

"These heroes were willing to lay down their lives so others might live," Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said at a memorial service.

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Sydney siege tributes
(01 of17)
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A police officer looks at flower tributes placed at a temporary memorial site close to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Three people including the gunman were shot after police ended the siege in the coffee shop early Tuesday. Australia's prime minister acknowledged Wednesday that the nation's security system failed to keep track of a gunman responsible for the deadly siege, and promised a transparent investigation into why the man was not on any terror watch list despite having a long criminal history. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(02 of17)
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Boxes of Lindt chocolates lie alongside flowers and candles at a memorial on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, honoring the victims of a siege at the nearby Lindt Chocolat Cafe, where a gunman held 17 people hostage for 16 hours. Two hostages and the gunman were killed when police stormed into the cafe in the early hours of Tuesday, Dec. 16. (AP Photo/Kristen Gelineau) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(03 of17)
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Michelle Cotterill, left, gives a woman a hug in the street at a temporary memorial site close to the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Cotterill said she had a steady stream of hug requests from the mourners who visited the site to pay their respect and leave flower tributes. Three people including a gunman were shot after police ended a siege in the city coffee shop in on Tuesday morning Dec. 16, 2014.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(04 of17)
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Tribute messages written on the sidewalk by mourners are seen at a temporary memorial site close to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Three people including the gunman were shot after police ended the siege in the coffee shop early Tuesday. Australia's prime minister acknowledged Wednesday that the nation's security system failed to keep track of a gunman responsible for the deadly siege, and promised a transparent investigation into why the man was not on any terror watch list despite having a long criminal history. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(05 of17)
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People come to lay flowers to pay respect to the shooting victims at a temporary memorial site close to the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. The siege ended early Tuesday with a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the Iranian-born gunman dead, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(06 of17)
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Two women write messages on the sidewalk at a temporary memorial site close to the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Three people including a gunman were shot after police ended a siege in the city coffee shop in on Tuesday morning Dec. 16, 2014.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(07 of17)
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Police stand watch over flower tributes to the shooting victims on the footpath outside the the cordoned off area outside the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Two of 17 hostages were killed Tuesday when police swooped into the cafe to rescue them from a gunman in a deadly siege. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(08 of17)
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A message to the shooting victims is placed at a makeshift memorial at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney Australia, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014. Three people including a lone gunman who took siege in a Sydney CBD cafe are dead after a police action ended in the early ours of the morning. (AP/Photo/Steve Christo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(09 of17)
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The public lay flowers at a makeshift memorial at Martin Place after the shootings at the Lindt coffee shop in Sydney's Martin Place, Sydney Australia. Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014. Three people including a lone gunman who took siege in a Sydney CBD cafe are dead after a police action ended in the early hours of the morning. (AP/Photo/Steve Christo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(10 of17)
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Police stand watch over flower tributes and messages written on the footpath outside the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott acknowledged Wednesday that the nation's security system failed to keep track of the gunman responsible for the deadly siege at the Sydney cafe, and promised a transparent investigation into why the man was not on any terror watch list despite having a long criminal history. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(11 of17)
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A man sits in the cordoned off area outside the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Police have cordoned off an area in and around a city coffee shop to perform an investigation into a siege the left three dead after a lone gunman took 17 people hostage on Monday Dec. 15, 2014.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(12 of17)
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Flower tributes are laid on the footpath and fence outside the cordoned off area near the Lindt cafe in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Three people including the gunman were shot after police ended the siege in the city coffee shop in on Tuesday morning Dec. 16, 2014.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(13 of17)
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A girl lays flowers in a makeshift memorial near the site where a gunman held hostages for 16 hours at a popular Sydney cafe, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. The siege ended early Tuesday with a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the Iranian-born gunman dead, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core. (AP Photo/Steve Christo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(14 of17)
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A woman cries after laying a flower at a makeshift memorial in Sydney, Australia Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 near where three people died in a siege. An Iranian-born gunman took 17 people hostage at a central city cafe Monday before police stormed the cafe early Tuesday. The gunman and two hostages were killed. (AP Photo/Nick Perry) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(15 of17)
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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie carry flowers as they pay respect to the victims of the siege in Martin Place in Sydney central business district, Australia. Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. Abbott has laid flowers at a makeshift memorial in Sydney for the victims of a central city cafe siege which left three people dead. (Photo: Steve Christo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(16 of17)
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A woman kneels down as she lays flowers in a makeshift memorial near the site where a gunman held hostages for 16 hours at a popular Sydney cafe, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. The siege ended early Tuesday with a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the Iranian-born gunman dead, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core. (AP Photo/Steve Christo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(17 of17)
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Employees of the Lindt Cafe pay tribute to colleagues who lost their lives following the shootings, at a makeshift memorial at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney Australia, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014. Three people including a lone gunman who took siege in a Sydney CBD cafe are dead after a police action ended in the early ours of the morning(AP/Photo/Steve Christo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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