Residents of the Cairns street where eight young children were killed have offered quiet prayers and solemn farewells as their funeral procession passed their street on a final journey.

Several hundred people lined the intersection of Murray Street, Manoora, on Saturday afternoon to watch as eight hearses, each carrying a small coffin, drove by under police escort.

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White helium balloons tied to a street sign floated in the gentle far north Queensland breeze as a woman blew kisses to each casket when it passed.

A cardboard placard reading “Please God bless these little children” was fixed to the Murray Street sign, along with bouquets of flowers.

One elderly woman leant on her younger companion for support, hands fixed in a praying position, for the entire period.

A young boy waved quietly from the arms of his mother, perhaps not fully comprehending the gravity of the situation apart from knowing this was goodbye.

The four girls and four boys, aged between two and 14 years, were farewelled with a Christian service at the Cairns Convention Centre in front of thousands of mourners.

Pastor Adem Xhafer opened the service with a welcoming prayer before hymns such as Amazing Grace were sung and Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and mayor Bob Manning layed wreaths.

Relatives of the young children read eulogies to remember “our beautiful angels” as a slideshow of photographs played.

At the request of the family, the media was not permitted inside to allow for approved footage and recordings to be released.

The four girls and four boys, who have become known as “Keriba Omasker”, or “our children”, have reached the Martyn Street cemetery, buried side by side.

But the lowering of the caskets, carefully and painfully done at the same time as one another, is merely another step in a complex grieving process.

One year on, the children’s final resting place will be marked by gravestones – a cultural protocol the family says will provide closure.

– AAP