London's many thousands of Australian residents and visitors have a permanent place to pay their respects to those who died in the Bali bombings. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall marked the fourth anniversary of the October 12, terrorist attacks in 2002 by unveiling a memorial in central London dedicated to the 202 people killed.
The memorial at Clive Steps, opposite St James's Park, features a marble globe with 202 doves carved into it standing in front of a wall bearing the names of all those who died.
In a moving tribute, representatives from the 22 countries which lost citizens in the attacks read out their names.
Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Richard Alston read the names of the 88 Australians who died.
"There are probably 150,000 Australians in London at any one time and a lot more during the summer season," he said after the ceremony.
"This memorial is in a very accessible location so not only Londoners, but many Australians living here will be forever reminded of one of the most horrific events that we've experienced."
Among a small Australian contingent at the unveiling ceremony was Jessica Hardy from the Gold Coast.
Her 20-year-old brother, Billy, died while in Bali on an end-of-season football trip.
"It's kind of tough being without your family because I'm used to sharing this occasion with them," Ms Hardy told AAP.
"But I'm glad that I could represent our family and be here to see the unveiling of my brother's name."
Ms Hardy, a former Big Brother contestant, has been based in England since March.
"No matter where you are in the world, you can pay your respects to your lost loved ones," she said.
"I usually light a candle or something, so rather than it being private day today it was nice to make it more of a public affair, to be able to stand by other people and have the support of them."
UK Bali Bombing Victims' Group chairman Jocelyn Waller, whose son Ed, 26, was killed in the blasts while on a rugby tour, described the memorial as uplifting.
"This is the fourth anniversary, we've been through three others and they've been quite sombre events," he said.
"Today somehow it was different. I think everybody, if they cried, it was tears of sort of joy and reconciliation rather than sadness.
"Of course it's a sad thing, but I think (before the unveiling) people didn't realise what an extraordinary monument this is - how beautiful it is and how uplifting and how meaningful it is."
© 2006 AAP
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