The man behind the mosque attack photo
Carolyne Meng-Yee visits town of alleged killer’s youth to find his family in hiding and locals in disbelief
The remarkable thing about Grafton is how unremarkable it is. Sleepy. Verdant farmland. Bridges, churches and pockets of residential homes alongside the winding Clarence River.
This is where Brenton Tarrant grew up. Where one of his mother’s closest friends is now in hiding. Where a former boss remembers her employee for his volunteer work with an Aboriginal fitness group. Where a former schoolmate describes him as the “class clown”.
Almost two months on from when Tarrant allegedly stormed into two Christchurch mosques and killed 51 Muslim worshippers, some of those in the small New South Wales city are sickened by the notoriety.
“I’ve had a gutsful of media,” said the man behind the fly screen door.
He’s a close friend of Tarrant’s mother, Sharon. He didn’t answer the door straight up — he was watching breaking news of the Sri Lankan bombings, an attack that killed 253 people in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.
We can’t name him. He’s scared of retribution for what happened in Christchurch, saying he is a prisoner in his own home. The night of the Christchurch attacks, “there were eight to 10 cars waiting for me outside. It was so bad I slept in my car at McDonald’s.”
He has only just returned home. He wants to be left alone in peace with his dog, carpet snake, porcupine and two screeching galahs he calls “the politicians”.
“I bet on the 15th of each month we will be harassed. We’ve done nothing wrong.”
The man met Tarrant a few times and, speaking from his Grafton doorstep, said he believed the Sri Lankan bombings were payback for the killing spree.
He is upset for the victims and their families and added: “All I have to say is turn the mirror the other way, that’s how Sharon feels. She is doing it tough.”
A source close to the family said: “Sharon appreciates the kindness and comfort the victims and survivors have given her — it really helps.”
‘I can’t make the connection to the person I knew’
In 2009, Tarrant began working as an instructor at Big River Gym. Manager Tracey Gray remembers him from his final years at Grafton High School. She understands he was bullied for being overweight.
“He’s not very tall, quite short and stocky.
“He didn’t have a big social network to draw from. It’s not unusual when people who carry excessive weight get pushed to the outer and is not part of the group that’s fun and popular.”
She is stunned her former employee
I know he’s not the only one with misguided ideas and beliefs . . . but it was the fact he acted on it. Tracey Gray, former employer
is the man who allegedly filmed the Christchurch attack and streamed it online.
“I can’t make the connection to the person I knew. I know he’s not the only one with misguided ideas and beliefs that are wrong but it was the fact he acted on it”.
Gray said the alleged gunman was “dedicated” to health and fitness and trained “obsessively”.
“He was the only person at the gym working out on Christmas Day. But he wasn’t the kind of person to walk around in muscle T-shirts and show how strong he was, in fact, it was the opposite. He worked out alone.
“I had to buy him some work shirts and new shoes — he needed a bit of a brush-up. He didn’t care much for clothes or the way he looked,” said Gray, a mother of four.
Tarrant was particular about the provenance of the food he ate — it had to come from the ground or an “animal”. Gray remembers his daily diet consisted of raw broccoli, raw beef and rice, and he was opposed to chemicals and anything processed.
“His clients were happy with his training but he needed to pay attention to his hygiene and perhaps have a shower after his training and before he trained clients.
“That’s when he disclosed to me he didn’t believe in using washing powder or deodorant. I offered to wash his shirts in vinegar and eucalyptus — all natural stuff.”
Tarrant wasn’t “bubbly or personable” but reliable and community-minded, working with Aboriginal services and running an Aboriginal fitness group for free.
“He knew I was from New Zealand and had part-Ma¯ori children. He had never shown any attitude to other races or held extreme beliefs. We talked about him wanting children.”
A town tarred by association
Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, was born to a working class family and an “ordinary” life.
He looked up to his father, Rodney, who worked for the James Hardie group and was a competitive triathlete.
Rodney died in 2010. He had mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung.
His mother, Sharon, is an English teacher at Maclean High School, a 50-minute drive across the Tarrant bridge from Grafton. Tarrant’s sister, Lauren, is a musician who shares her brother’s enthusiasm for the heavy metal band Tool and who last saw her sibling at her birthday.
At Grafton High School, the motto is “Strive to the End”. It looks posh. Solid brick. Well-established trees. Tarrant’s entire secondary school education was here.
As a teenager, he played rugby league for local club the Grafton Ghosts and is remembered by classmate Kara Hickson as the “class clown”.
“He was always cracking jokes and being mischievous. He wasn’t really interested in education.
“I am confused how somebody who grew up in the same town as me could do something so horrible. He’s tarred our town.”
Hickson, 28, was reticent to talk,