Lindt Cafe siege: Memorial unveiled for Sydney victims three years on

A MOVING tribute to the victims of the Lindt cafe siege has been held at Sydney’s Martin Place today to accompany the unveiling of a memorial three years on.

A MOVING tribute to the victims of the Lindt Cafe siege has been held at Sydney’s Martin Place today to accompany the unveiling of a memorial.

Three years on from the shocking siege which stunned the world, survivors and families gathered at an emotional ceremony at which more than 200 handcrafted flowers, in mirrored cubes, were inlaid into the pavement just metres from the Lindt Cafe.

Katrina Dawson.

Tori Johnson.

Two bunches of flowers lay on the ground at the site of a permanent memorial honouring the lives of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson at Martin Place. Picture: Jessica Hromas/Getty Images

Siege victim Katrina Dawson's daughter Chloe hugs her father Paul Smith during the unveiling of a permanent memorial honouring the lives of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson. Picture: Jessica Hromas/Getty Images

New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, gave the only speech on what was a sombre event.

Addressing the audience — which included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull — Ms Berejiklian said no Australian would ever forget the incident which claimed the lives of cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson.

“No Australian will ever forget the heartbreaking events that unfolded at Martin Place three years ago. But none more so than the loved ones of Tori and Katrina — wonderful young Australians who were tragically killed by an act of evil and terror,” Ms Berejiklian said.

A permanent memorial honouring the lives of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson at Martin Place comprises of 210 individual boxes with flowers embedded in the granite pavement. Picture: Jessica Hromas/Getty Images

One of the horrific moments of the Lindt Cafe siege as a staff member fled the cafe. Picture: Adam Taylor

Ms Dawson’s daughter Chloe Smith and niece Samantha Dawson presented aqua hydrangeas — Katrina’s favourites — to widower Paul Smith, while a local school student Jack Tighe presented a bouquet of sunflowers to Johnson’s partner Thomas Zinn.

The floral tribute at Martin Place after the deadly siege. Picture: Toby Zerna

Parts of Martin Place were closed off for the memorial. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The tribute, designed by Professor Richard Johnson and artist Jess Dare, is inspired by the sea of flowers that flooded Martin Place in the days following the lengthy stand-off.

The ceremony comes seven months after results of a long-running inquest into the siege were handed down with NSW coroner Michael Barnes finding that police waited 10 minutes too long before storming the premises.

Eighteen people had been taken hostage by Man Haron Monis who also died in the siege