Heartbreak as family, friends say goodbye to Bondi victim

Jade Young was so much more than a victim of a horrific attack that rocked Sydney to its core, just ask her mum Elizabeth.

Jade's face was sprinkled with freckles, her smile was wide, she was kind, smart, generous and loved by so many.

She loved cake, sometimes at breakfast, she cooked waffles or crepes when her daughters had friends sleep over, and she took her beloved dog Teddy the schnauzer almost everywhere with her.

Jade grew up in Wollongong and went on to become a skilled architect. She was the mum to nine and 14-year old daughters, and wife to Noel McLaughlin who she met when they went to school together at The Illawarra Grammar School (TIGS).

Ten days ago the 47-year-old was killed as she stood next to her youngest daughter while they shopped for a birthday present at Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday, April 13.

She was one of six people who died in the same attack.

Emotions were raw under the glare of a warm autumn day at her public memorial in the Calyx at Sydney's Botanic Gardens on Tuesday, April 23.

Around 400 people attended and mourners were asked to wear colourful clothing in memory of Jade.

"Here are the three reasons why you should listen to your sister," Jade's brother PJ said as mourners giggled.

"Number one, hamburgers are precious food. Jade once slammed my head into a door after I touched her hamburger."

Number two - he stole Jade's cassette tape of Give it Away by Red Hot Chili Peppers and listened to it on repeat, and third "go with your stomach".

"When Jade chooses to eat from a menu, it's dessert first, main second. This theory applies to friends, it's always the sweetest friend that makes you feel good, those are the people you should keep in your heart."

Jade's husband Noel spoke briefly, "how lucky we feel in the awful situation to have all of you here with us".

Her cousin Claire reminisced that you could always find a few random items in Jade's handbag, a glowstick, a can of tuna, there was always something.

Her tears flowed as she remembered her cousin and their close relationship since they were children.

"I always felt the word cousin wasn't enough for the relationship Jade and I had, she was more like a sister," she said.

Claire also directed her words to Jade's two young daughters, telling them she'll spill the beans on what they got up to when they were children.

"She [Jade] wasn't a very good babysitter, she always fell asleep and we had to put ourselves to bed," she said as the crowd giggled.

Standing bravely in front of mourners Jade's eldest daughter, who the family have asked media not to identify, spoke of her mum's love of Teddy the dog.

"Teddy was mum's dog," she said.

"Mum would cook waffles ... every sleepover there was either waffles or crepes, and Teddy always got the first waffle. Teddy sucked up to Mum and mum always gave in."

Jade's mother Elizabeth was the first to speak at the memorial and she confessed she's angry, exhausted and scared of the future.

"At 3.20pm Jade Young was attacked and killed outright in front of her daughter," she said. "In an instant gone from a nine-year-old's life and a 14-year-old's life," she said.

"He came prepared, he had intention, he was killer who slipped past Westfield security making a shopping centre the most dangerous place on earth for Jade.

"Our lives have been fractured, there will be no going back to normal."

She called for change and she wants her daughter's name, and the others killed - Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Cheng Yixuan, 27, Pikria Darchia, 55 and Faraz Tahir, 30 - to be more than just a headline in a news report.

She wants politicians to address the mental health gaps that led to her daughter's alleged killer not receiving the help he needed.

"I want Jade's girls to grow up believing there is security, goodness and love in the world.

"I want politicians to federal and state to address the gaps in mental health care, to make it a safer world for our girls.

Sarah Brown met Jade at TIGS in 1993, and their friendship continued for decades through working holidays in London, dog shows and music.

"I love that she was softly spoken and polite, but the reality was she's very cheeky, very funny and she's perfect material for a lifelong partner in crime," she said.

They went to Glastonbury Music Festival together, drank in bars, attend the world-famous Crufts dog show, and it was to Sarah that Jade confessed her love of Noel.

"I was like 'the guy from a few years behind us with the mop of blonde hair ... but your dream date's Keanu Reeves'," she laughed at the memory.

Work colleague Michael Bremner spoke of Jade's passion and skill as an architect and how she and her family would often pop into the office for a coffee and a chat.

They became so close he was invited to Jade and Noel's wedding in Wollongong in 2006.

"To this day I cherish my time with Jade and her family," he said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Jade's grief stricken family, so far more than $237,000 has been raised.