{"id":6641,"date":"2026-05-07T08:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6641\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T08:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:48:20","slug":"kumanjayi-little-baby-remembered-at-vigils-across-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6641\/","title":{"rendered":"Kumanjayi Little Baby remembered at vigils across the country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of her family.<\/p>\n

Vigils have been held across the country in memory of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, who was allegedly murdered in Alice Springs.<\/p>\n

Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing from the Old Timers \/ Ilyperenye town camp in Central Australia on April 25.<\/p>\n

It triggered a large-scale search of the area involving hundreds of volunteers.<\/p>\n

Her body was found about 5 kilometres south of the camp on April 30, sparking an outpouring of grief across the nation.<\/p>\n

Hundreds gathered at a vigil in Melbourne’s inner north, with pink T-shirts and ribbons everywhere.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The tone was sombre in Melbourne. (ABC News: Jesse Thompson)<\/p>\n

Mourners were urged to wear the colour as they took part in a smoking ceremony and moment of silence, followed by speeches from Indigenous leaders.<\/p>\n

Organiser Natasha Ellis-Corrigan said although the event was a long way from Alice Springs, it provided an important opportunity for people to grieve.<\/p>\n

\"Pink<\/p>\n

Pink was Kumanjayi Little Baby’s favourite colour. (ABC News: Jesse Thompson)<\/p>\n

“It’s important for people to come here so they know that we are in this together,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We come together in unity, to grieve together, but also to comfort each other in times of need.”\"A<\/p>\n

Kumanjayi Little Baby was five years old. (Supplied: NT Police)<\/p>\n

‘A lot of pain’ felt across the country<\/p>\n

The National Carillon in Canberra was lit up in pink, the favourite colour of Kumanjayi Little Baby.<\/p>\n

Canberrans gathered and brought flowers.<\/p>\n

\"Crowd<\/p>\n

It was a sea of pink in Canberra as well. (ABC News: Monte Bovill)<\/p>\n

Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Violet Sheridan said the girl’s death had caused “a lot of pain”.<\/p>\n

“I send my love and prayers to her family,” she said.<\/p>\n

“They’ve lost someone some dearly loved and so young.<\/p>\n

“We need to stand with them and will get through this together as a nation.”\"Ngunnawal<\/p>\n

Aunty Violet Sheridan spoke at one of the multiple vigils held across Australia. (ABC News: Monte Bovill)<\/p>\n

Another vigil was held at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, where dozens of attendees lit candles.<\/p>\n

Organisers said the vigils were a chance for the community to honour Kumanjayi Little Baby and stand with her family.<\/p>\n

Balloons, candles and a sea ofpink<\/p>\n

There were sombre scenes at Sydney’s Town Hall as well at Thursday night’s vigil, with attendees writing messages of grief and support for the girl’s family on a large canvas.<\/p>\n

\"Candles,<\/p>\n

Flowers, candles, a photograph and an Aboriginal flag made up a memorial for the five-year-old at Sydney’s vigil. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Flowers, candles, a photograph and an Aboriginal flag were draped on nearby steps.<\/p>\n

Dozens of people came together at Queensland’s Sunshine Coast too, mourners sitting together in Cotton Tree Park on the banks of the Maroochy River where a smoking ceremony was held.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

A smoking ceremony was held on the Sunshine Coast. (ABC News: Tessa Mapstone)<\/p>\n

As the sun set in Perth, crowds gathered for a vigil that was full of pink balloons.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

The sun set as crowds gathered in Perth. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)<\/p>\n

In Hobart, dozens of people gathered at a sunset vigil, many holding candles.<\/p>\n

Multiple ceremonies were held across Tasmania, with vigils also in Launceston and Burnie.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Hobart crowd gathered in solidarity. (ABC News: Monty Jacka)<\/p>\n

Nala Mansell, from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, said it marked an opportunity for the community to come together peacefully.<\/p>\n

“We’re here to say enough is enough \u2014 Aboriginal lives matter, all Aboriginal lives matter,” Ms Mansell said.<\/p>\n

“And mainly just to\u2026 give strength to our brothers and sisters up in the Northern Territory during such horrible times.”\"Nala<\/p>\n

Nala Mansell says the vigil’s aim was to send love to the wider Northern Territory community. (ABC News: Monty Jacka)<\/p>\n

Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with one count of murder and two other charges that cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.<\/p>\n

The case returns to court on July 30.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Northern Territory Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill confirmed three department staffers had been stood down<\/a> following an investigation into the circumstances of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s death.<\/p>\n

The ABC understands that two of the workers have since been reinstated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous person…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[8046,1518,1053,8048,8043,8049,8044,1515,8040,8041,260,2165,8050,247,2763,8047,8042,8045],"class_list":["post-6641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-5-year-old","tag-alice-springs","tag-alleged-murder","tag-death-of-five-year-old-kumanjayi-little-baby","tag-found-dead","tag-how-is-kumanjayi-little-baby-being-memorialised","tag-indigenous-girl","tag-jefferson-lewis","tag-kumanjayi","tag-little-baby","tag-melbourne","tag-memorial","tag-paying-tribute-to-little-baby","tag-sydney","tag-town-camp","tag-tribute-to-girl-killed-in-alice-springs","tag-vigil","tag-vigil-for-aboriginal-girl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}