Thousands have expressed sorrow, anger and shame at vigils across New Zealand mourning the death of British tourist Grace Millane.
Crowds gathered in half a dozen cities on Wednesday night at candlelit events dedicated to the Essex woman who went missing in Auckland the day before her 22nd birthday and was found dead on the weekend.
In the capital, Wellington, hundreds packed the town centre for an outpouring of emotion, reflecting on a failure to protect a visitor in a country that prides itself on hospitality.
Grace Millane was murdered by a man last year. Source: AAP
"There is a real sense of shame. We should have kept her safe," attendee Mandy Evett told AAP.
"She was our guest, she was young. You send your kid off somewhere on an adventure and you think they're going to be safe ... We need to change our culture, our attitude towards women."
It reflected sentiment among speakers at events across the country, who drew attention to New Zealand's reported domestic violence rates, the highest in the developed world.
In Auckland, hundreds joined in a stirring rendition of "Amazing Grace".
"So many people, right across the board, women and men, have seen a bit of ourselves in Grace. People who have been out travelling, been out late, living their own lives," organiser Elouise Quigan said.
Earlier, Ms Millane's father, David, and his brother, Martin, attended a private Maori blessing in the bush on the outskirts of Auckland where the young woman's body was found over the weekend.
People lay flowers and light candles during a candlelight vigil for British tourist Grace Millane. Source: AP
"Grace was not born here and only managed to stay a few weeks, but you have taken her to your hearts and in some small way she will forever be a Kiwi," David Millane said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We all hope that what has happened to Grace will not deter even one person from venturing out into the world and discovering their own overseas experience."
They would be taking her back home on the weekend, he said
Flowers have piled up at a roundabout near the crime scene in recent days, a sign of the ongoing and widespread dismay across New Zealand.
The country's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, earlier this week held back tears as she apologised to Ms Millane's family on behalf of the nation.
"There is this overwhelming sense of hurt and shame that this has happened in our country, a place that prides itself on our hospitality ... especially to those who are visiting our shores," she said.
Ms Millane was on the second leg of a year-long world tour after graduating from university.
After visiting Peru, she arrived alone in New Zealand last month and had been in touch with family and friends nearly daily until her disappearance.
She was last seen alive going to a central Auckland hotel with a 26-year-old local man, who has since been charged with her murder.
While killings by strangers are uncommon in New Zealand and the yearly number of homicides has been fewer than 50 since 2010, a number of women visiting the country have been killed by men in recent decades.
