By Tamara Roper

As the world watches in horror while hostages in a café in Sydney areheld by an armed man, social media is filled with messages of support and resilience.

#Illridewithyou has started to trend on Twitter, and Australians are reaching out to members of the Muslim community,offering to accompany them home if they feel intimidated.

The hashtag was started by a woman, @sirtessawho tweeted the following at 5.28AMAustralian time:

If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don’t feel safe alone: I’ll ride with you. @ me for schedule.

— Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014

Twitter is awash with #illridewithyou offers, having now become more than just an offer, but an indication of how the country feels at the incredibly tense time. One man’s Facebook post has summed up beautifully the spirit of Australia’s national pride, and is being shared around the web, on all different platforms.

It's a wonderful description of Australia, a "nation of mates". Read it in full below.