Twenty years on, the Bali bombings feel exactly the same for Geoff Thwaites
The father of footy player Robert Thwaites who was 24 when the Bali bombings claimed him 20 years ago reflects on the grief, saying it is incremental and with him every day
Gold Coast
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For Gold Coaster Geoff Thwaites whose son Robert was killed in the Bali bombings 20 years ago, the grief is incremental.
His boy “Bob”, as he calls him, was killed age 24 - and Mr Thwaites says Wednesday’s anniversary marking two decades since the fateful day feels no different from the first.
His son had just stepped out of a maxi taxi in front of the Sari club set to celebrate a winning game of rugby league with his team, the ISCI Komodos. Instead he took the full force of the blast. As Mr Thwaites told GC Weekend last Saturday: “He didn’t even have time to get a drink.”
On Wednesday, at the Allambe Memorial Park, Nerang, Mr Thwaites sat amongst a crowd of Coasters gathered to commemorate those they loved and lost when extremists detonated three bombs inside and near popular Kuta nightclubs on October 12, 2002.
It is still the largest loss of Australian life due to a terrorist attack in history.
“I was here for the very first ceremony held in the first year after the bombings,” Mr Thwaites said at the memorial. “Twenty years, does it feel a bit different? For me, no it does not.
“For me, it’s incremental. I see it every single day. I’m not coming back after being away for 20 years.
“You live it every single day, it’s alive.”
The Allambe memorial service was among many held across the country and in Bali to remember the 202 victims – including 88 Australians – of the explosions.
Inside the Parkview Chapel at Allambe, seven candles were lit for each of the Queenslanders who perished that night.
The service began with a traditional Balinese dance and moving performances by local singers Stephanie Dass and the Coastal Charisma choir.
Gold Coast Councillor Bob La Castra spoke, paying respects to the victims of the “awful, deplorable acts of violence” carried out in Bali two decades ago.
“We gather with family and friends to remember those we lost,” Cr La Castra said during the service, adding they also gathered to remember their lives and “celebrate the legacy of their love”.
“Australians will never be defeated by terrorism,” he continued. “We can never forget them (the victims). We can never let terrorism win.”
Mr La Castra was among a number of representatives who laid wreaths during the service, including Federal Member for Moncrieff Angie Bell and Bonney MP Sam O’Connor.
Representatives from the Southport RSL and Southport Sharks AFL club – which had seven players injured and one, Billy Hardy, killed in the explosions – also attended to commemorate those lost.
Mr Thwaites described the memorial as “the best we’ve ever had”, and said it was important that the memorial never be a lost part of “culture”
“I want this (the memorial) to be a lasting symbol of our culture, and that we will come every year and remember those that died senselessly,” Mr Thwaites said. “But let’s make it worth something.”
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Originally published as Twenty years on, the Bali bombings feel exactly the same for Geoff Thwaites