Waverley Council plans permanent memorial to the victims of Bondi Westfield attack

A Sydney council is discussing a permanent memorial to the victims of the Bondi Westfield horror, with early plans for a ‘garden space’.

The first early details of a planned permanent memorial to the victims of the Bondi Westfield attack have emerged, with initial proposals for a new “garden space” that might serve as a place for “reflection and respite”.

Waverley Council, which takes in the eastern Sydney suburbs of Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach, is proposing the memorial, with the council’s Arts Committee discussing the project in April.

A key theme for the memorial could include acknowledging women victims and the council will likely preference a female and Australian artist for the new installation.

“Key themes about women victims and need for mental health care,” Waverley’s July 15 meeting document states.

“Preference expressed for a female artist. Garden space / mental health space, a place for reflection and respite, not just an artwork.

“Pressed flowers were such a great part of the one-year anniversary, would be good to keep this intimate, curved, sweeping, softer space (not angular).

Waverley Council is considering a permanent memorial for the victims of the Bondi Westfield attack. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

“Location will inform input into the type of memorial and potential artist.”

Designs and an exact location are still to be decided.

The council is now seeking feedback on memorial examples and possible artists.

It is expected the council will select artists rather to go to public tender.

Joel Cauchi, 40, killed six people – five women – and injured 10 others in a stabbing rampage at the busy Westfield shopping centre on the afternoon of April 13, 2024.

Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia lost their lives in the attack.

NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott shot Cauchi dead, ending the rampage.

A five-week coronial inquest into Cauchi’s state of mind both before and during the fatal attack took place in April.

The attack happened at the Bondi Westfield shopping centre on April 13, 2024. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

The 40-year-old killer was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 and was medicated for more than a decade to treat the condition until he ceased taking all psychotropic medication in June 2019, the inquest heard.

On the day of the attack, Cauchi was “floridly psychotic”, a panel of five psychiatrists told the court.

To date, makeshift memorials have been set up for the community to mourn the event.

From April 10 to 16 this year, two commemorative display boards were installed in Oxford Street Mall in Bondi Junction.

The displays showcased photographs, messages and images from the floral tributes and vigil, offering a space for reflection.

“One year on, we pause and reflect on the tragic events of April 13 and remember the strength of the community in the days following,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said in April.

“Our thoughts are with the victims’ families, those injured, first responders and all those whose lives were changed forever.”

Originally published as Waverley Council plans permanent memorial to the victims of Bondi Westfield attack