A POST-MORTEM is set to be conducted on the body of a baby found in a shallow grave at a Sydney beach.

The infant’s body was found by two boys aged six and seven as they dug in the sand at the southern end of Maroubra beach on Sunday.

A post-mortem will be conductedtoday as police continue to scour hospital and registry records and CCTV footage from nearby in the search for the baby’s parents.

Police have grave concerns for the mother’s welfare.

The newborn baby was found naked and was too decomposed to ­determine its gender or the hours, days, weeks it had lived. If any.

From its shallow resting place under 30cm of soft sand at the south end of Maroubra beach, amid the yellow daisies that decorate the dunes, the lifeless little baby ­yesterday re-emerged into light.

media_camera A police forensic investigator and what is believed to be evidence or remains in blue plastic bag are driven away from Maroubra beach. Picture: Cameron Richardson

For the two young boys, aged six and seven, who discovered the tiny body, a beautiful Sunday morning at the beach quickly turned gruesome. The boys are receiving counselling.

And for a city still aghast at the discovery of an abandoned infant in a suburban drain a week ago — and still reeling from the shock of Test star Phillip Hughes’ tragic death — it was almost too much to take in.

A beach is a place where childhood memories are formed and forged, not expunged.

A place where kids go to frolic, not to die.

Yesterday, sun worshippers lay on their towels merely 50m from the grim, tented crime scene.

media_camera Police forensic investigators perform the gruesome task of retrieving the baby’s body and searching for clues to how it got there. Picture: Cameron Richardson

They slapped on their sunscreen as detectives slowly paced the dunes, side by side, desperate for any clues peeking out from the grains of sand.

Officers wielded their shovels in a grisly search for evidence — a beach game that is usually reserved for ­imaginative children digging for hidden treasure.

Hours earlier, as the Nippers were belting up the beach and diving to capture flags, the two boys ­stumbled across the dark secret. It was just after 10am and the beach was a juxtaposition of cheerful ­junior sport and adult Sunday sloth.

media_camera Police forensic officers investigate the remains that were dug up by children yesterday morning at the southern end of Maroubra beach. Picture: Cameron Richardson

They immediately shouted out to their dad, knowing full well what they had unearthed — the remains of a “very small infant”.

The child did not have any clothing or identifying marks, and — given the position and depth of the burial — police were last night treating its death as a murder.

media_camera Police forensic investigators at the scene. Picture Cameron Richardson

“Police, assisted by homicide officers, are making inquiries through Births Deaths and Marriages and local hospitals to find the parents,” Inspector Andrew Holland said.

He said the police were ­concerned about the dead baby’s mother and he urged her to come forward or seek medical assistance.

It is believed the parents of the children who found the body gave a statement to police yesterday, and the children were receiving counselling organised by the South ­Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club.

media_camera Police are trying to determine when the body was left there but hold grave concerns for the mother and have appealed for her to come forward.

The club will hold a meeting at 6:30pm on Wednesday for anyone who was involved in yesterday’s horrific events and who wished to receive counselling assistance.

Inspector Holland said the ­discovery of the baby’s body had been upsetting for all those involved.

“Everyone’s upset,” he said. “Something like this doesn’t happen every day and will affect everyone at the surf club involved.”

media_camera Children have dug up an infant body at Maroubra beach south end.

Local teenager Dylan De Costa said the morning was blissful before the discovery, but the mood on the beach shifted dramatically at the shock of what lay beneath the sand.

“It was a regular day at Nippers and everyone was enjoying themselves. Then this happened,’’ the 14-year-old said. “People looked a bit shocked and upset.’’

Witness Jeremy Dobrowolski, who was playing volleyball nearby, said several children were digging in the sand at the edge of the dunes.

“Then we saw about five police officers come down with a few lifesavers and stopped the Nippers,” Mr Dobrowolski said.

“They just quietly moved all the kids away further up the beach.’’

No one needs to see such a ­heartbreaking sight.