The children chased each other under candlelight, grins on their faces, laughter in the air.

But the significance of those candles was, perhaps thankfully, lost in their youthful innocence.

Members of the Cairns community gathered at Munro Martin Park on Friday night, reeling from the deaths of eight children aged between 18 months and 15 years.

Their bodies were discovered in a Murray Street, Manoora home about 11.20am on Friday by a 20-year-old brother.

A 34-year-old woman, the mother of seven of the eight children, remains in hospital with serious injuries. She is assisting police with their inquiries.

The children's uncle, Pastor Michael Gela who, like all the family, hailed from Erub Island in the Torres Strait, said he could not understand what had happened.

Why he had lost eight nieces and nephews.

"This is not our way," he said through tears.

"This is not our way."

Pastor Gela said he had heard many stories – all rumour – about what happened to his "sister" and the eight "little darlings".

But he was no closer to the truth than anyone else.

"It's a shocking time for a lot of indigenous families and friends, but the gathering was good," he said.

"In Cairns, we're a unity community."

Martin Munro Park is a regular meeting spot for the indigenous community in Cairns, an epicentre of their family lives.

Pastor Gela said it was a natural place for people to come together and support each other.

"It's a shock. Even now, I'm not coming to terms," he said.

"I'm trying to put my mind to it, but it's unbelievable.

"We would never think things would happen to our very own like that – it's tragic and it's stunned all of us.

"Now, we sit here together, and we just talk about it."

Pastor Gela said the presence of people who were "not even friends", the strangers who came to light candles and share the grief, was a source of comfort that was greatly appreciated.

About 30 people had settled in on Friday night, while others solemnly came and went, paying their respects and shedding their tears.

One of those was Rosemarie Sama, who moved to the northern beaches of Cairns about six months ago from Sydney.

She took her three children, aged nine, six and four, to leave a tribute at Munro Martin Park.

While they did not know the slain children, Ms Sama said she was compelled to come.

"After the week we've just had, with the Sydney siege, the kids in Pakistan and now this – it's just hard to comprehend," she said.

"I tried to explain to the kids what we were doing tonight and where we were going and my eldest asked if we knew them.

"I said, 'no, but it could have been anybody – it could have been your friends in school' and then we all wrote the note together."

That note – one of several – was placed along with teddy bears, flowers and those candles burning for eight young lives so tragically lost.

And all the while, the children played.