Vigils across Australia honour Kumanjayi Little Baby

Thousands gathered at vigils across Australia to honour five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, as her mother’s statement—read in Alice Springs—asked the nation to remember her child with dignity and compassion.

In Mparntwe / Alice Springs, more than a thousand people assembled at ANZAC Oval for a solemn vigil. The gathering followed the discovery of Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body last week on the outskirts of town, outside Old Timers town camp.

Kinship grandfather Robin Japanangka Granites at the Community vigil for Kumanjayi Little Baby at Anzac Oval, in Alice Springs.

Key Points

At the local vigil, Leanne Liddle, the executive director of cultural reform at NT Police, read a statement on behalf of the little girl’s mother.

The statement described Kumanjayi Little Baby’s personality, her favourite activities and music, and conveyed deep gratitude to those who searched for and supported the family. It also urged the community to refrain from politicising her short life and condemned violence that occurred in Alice Springs last week.

“Instead, I want my little baby to be remembered as a pretty girl in pink. A little girl who was truly loved by me, Ramsiah and her family.”

— Statement from Kumanjayi Little Baby’s mother, read by Leanne Liddle

The mother’s statement included a Christian expression of thanks—“the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”—for the “precious time” she had with her daughter.

She spoke of a heart “broken into a million pieces” and described how her daughter loved cuddling puppies, playing games on her mother’s phone, and watching Bluey and Masha and the Bear.

She said her daughter listened to Rose and Bruno Mars, APT, and Golden by K-Pop Demon Hunters, and played Minecraft with her big brother, Ramsiah. As a baby, she smiled watching Cocomelon; later, she loved the colour pink, all the colours of the rainbow, and going to kindy.

The statement asked that her daughter’s life “not be used by politicians for reasons that do not honour and respect her,” and said it was wrong for people to use the family’s pain to cause violence or damage to property or injury to police or paramedics, as occurred last week in Alice Springs.

It also thanked the Chief Minister, the Northern Territory Police Force, Aboriginal liaison officers, volunteers and organisations who “searched day and night,” and expressed appreciation for people across Australia and beyond who shared the family’s grief.

The mother asked the community to look up to the night sky for the “brightest star,” where she said Kumanjayi Little Baby is now in heaven, and urged people to take care of their little ones. She also asked that the family and the nation be allowed to grieve without judgement and to remember her daughter for who she was—a beautiful child who was truly loved.

Community Mourning

Grief and trauma specialist Rachel Neary, who has more than 15 years’ experience and is based in Central Australia, said the vigils represented a moment of “collective grief.” She said many people felt a connection to the story, whether through knowing the family, working with relatives, or having joined the search.

“I think what we’re seeing is a lot of people feeling they have a connections with this story,”

— Rachel Neary, grief and trauma specialist

Ms Neary said the vigils should be about bearing witness to each other’s sadness and processing the events of the past week. She observed that Mparntwe / Alice Springs felt quiet, like a “ghost town,” and that people were in sorry business. She also said a “deficit story” was being told about Alice Springs and argued this overlooked the community’s strength and generosity in coming together.

The Central Australian Women’s Aboriginal Choir performed at the Alice Springs vigil, as attendees observed silence, shared prayers and messages, and supported the family and broader community in mourning.