Bali commemoration: ‘We hold on to their names, we will never let them fade’

They met at the headland under heavy rain and grey clouds to pay their respects to the 88 Australians who never came home.

The Bali commemoration ceremony at Coogee in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

They met at the headland under heavy rain and grey clouds ready to pay their respects to the 88 Australians who never came home.

Since 2003, the annual commemoration at Coogee’s Dolphins Point in Sydney’s east has become a cherished ritual for the families who lost loved ones, but on Wednesday they were joined by hundreds more who wanted to offer their own tributes, 20 years after the horrific bombings.

Peter Dutton, Dominic Perrottet and Anthony Albanese at Coogee on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Anthony Albanese, who met survivors and victims’ families, spoke of the “calculated depravity” of the terrorists and the defiance of the survivors who “ran towards terror” to support both friends and strangers.

“That night, the terrorists could not achieve their aim,” the Prime Minister said. “What they struck, they could not defeat … People ran towards the terror, to do what they could do for friend and stranger alike.”

Addressing the families of the victims, Mr Albanese said the futures of the 88 dead Australians had been stolen in a senseless act of barbarity, but would never be forgotten. “We think of them with the ache of knowing they should still be here, their senses filled with everything we feel now … We hold on to their names and faces. And we will never let them fade.”

The site, set against the backdrop of the South Pacific, was renamed in honour of the six members of the local Coogee Dolphins team who died inside the Sari Club in Kuta, with the headland’s towering bronze sculpture signifying the spirit of courage and endurance of the families, friends and community.

White doves released at the end of the Bali bombing commemoration ceremony. Picture: AFP

Throughout the ceremony mourners bowed their heads into the rain as they listened to the tributes and roll call of the 44 names of those from NSW and Tasmania who lost their lives.

Paul Yeo paid tribute to his younger brother, Gerard, who died alongside five Dolphins teammates, shortly after he moved from Dubbo to Sydney to start work as a plumber.

“I spoke at this memorial in 2006 and I recall how broken the parents who lost their children were. And today nothing has changed. I still don’t know how they tell their stories,” he said.

“Those few moments definitely have an effect, but life rolled on,” Mr Yeo said, adding his son was born six weeks after the bombings: “He’s here today and he reminds me of Gez in so many ways.”

Coogee local Jen Roberts, who lost 28-year-old son Ben six weeks after the bombing, said the grief of losing her son had never left her.

Following the ceremony, 88 white doves were released to honour the 88 dead.