Permanent Bondi Westfield memorial revealed
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. NewsWire / Monique Harmer Credit: News Corp Australia
'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. NewsWire / Simon Bullard. Credit: News Corp Australia
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.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
‘Bizarre' twist in ‘terrifying' plane incident
A man who tried to open the doors of a plane mid-flight and assaulted a crew member who tried to stop him has had his charges dropped after a court found he was suffering 'adverse and unusual' effects of a drug he'd only just been prescribed. Shadi Taiseer Alsaaydeh, a 47-year-old Jordanian national, tried to open the doors of a plane in the middle of a flight coming into Sydney from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was moved to another seat where he again tried to open one of the doors, assaulting an airline crew member as staff and passengers restrained him. Mr Alsaaydeh pleaded guilty to charges of endangering the safety of aircraft and assaulting, threatening and intimidating the airline crew. The offences can carry a maximum of 10 years imprisonment; however, magistrate Jennifer Atkinson dropped the charges on Friday morning. A man who tried to open the doors of a plane mid-flight and assaulted a crew member who tried to stop him has had his charges completely dropped. NewsWire / James Gourley Credit: News Corp Australia Having spent months in custody, Mr Alsaaydeh dialled into court through an audiovisual link, often sitting with his head down and wiping away tears. The court was told how Mr Alsaaydeh had only recently been prescribed the sleeping medication Stilnox by a doctor before his flight to Australia, and it was likely side effects of the drug caused him to embark on the 'terrifying' ordeal. 'This is different to a situation where you might have been on prescription medication for a long period … what happened on that flight likely was you suffering from one of the adverse and unusual side effects of that medication,' Ms Atkinson told the court. She said she had seen previous reports of 'really bizarre behaviour' as a result of the medication, with a pharmacologist's report revealing Mr Alsaaydeh's actions as described by airline staff were consistent with the unusual side effects. 'The bizarre behaviour described by airline staff is entirely consistent with what is known as parasomnia or complex sleep behaviour associated with amnesia and hallucinations in which an individual engages in potentially dangerous actions, effectively in a sleep state, without any awareness or memory of any activity after recovering from the effects of the drug,' Ms Atkinson quoted from the report. She said Mr Alsaaydeh had previously travelled overseas to represent the Jordanian government, he was 'well regarded' in Jordan and had no criminal record. 'But on the 5th of April you got on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney and you took Stilnox and other medication and what happened after that was incidents on the plane where you tried to open the door and where you assaulted cabin staff,' she said. Mr Alsaaydeh nodded as Ms Atkinson said how it would have been a 'terrifying time' for others on-board the plane. Ms Atkinson ultimately dropped the charges, with Mr Alsaaydeh set to leave Australia. 'It is inexpedient to inflict any punishment and without proceeding to a conviction I dismiss the charge,' she said. Mr Alsaaydeh immediately stood and clasped his hands together upon her decision. More to come
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
National law firm investigating potential class action against First Guardian Master Fund and Shield Master Fund after accusations of operating Ponzi scheme as more than $1bn on the line
Lawyers from Slater and Gordon are investigating a potential class action on behalf of investors against two collapsed superfunds - First Guardian Master Fund and Shield Master Fund - as they face accusations of running a Ponzi scheme. The national law firm has advised not only are 12,000 Australians expected to be affected by the alleged scheme, but more than $1b is at stake of being lost to the collapsed funds. Keystone Asset Management, the responsible entity for the Shield Master Fund, and Falcon Capital, the manager of the First Guardian Master Fund, have both entered into liquidation with ASIC understood to be carrying out a range of investigations against all parties involved. Previously ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said ASIC's investigations are looking at the entire chain, including conduct of the lead generators, the financial advisers, the superannuation platforms, 'who we think have a real role here', and the research houses that 'listed these funds as investable'. Slater and Gordon principal lawyer in class actions Andy Wei confirmed the firm is investigating claims that investors were advised to roll their superannuation assets into largely unreliable funds, which has now caused great uncertainty amongst investors on how much of their funds would be recoverable. 'What we're seeing here is potentially deliberate misleading of investors, many of whom are everyday Australians looking to secure their nest eggs,' Mr Wei said. 'They were repeatedly assured that their superannuation would flow into diversified portfolios with steady returns.' He said despite this assurance, 'recent information shows that these funds were largely illiquid with their values grossly overstated.' Mr Wei added illiquid assets such as real estate, retirement accounts, collectibles and private equity could be harder to recover without 'significant loss of value'. He affirmed there is a chance that more than 12,000 Australians could be left out of pocket, with more than $1bn in superannuation 'potentially wiped out'. 'These are people's savings, and they deserve far better than this,' he said. 'Superannuation is meant to be tightly regulated, and many investors likely believed their money was safely managed by trusted, blue-chip superannuation companies.' A Slater and Gordon spokesman highlighted conduct issues at First Guardian 'observed' by FTI Consulting liquidators and accused the superfund of operating a Ponzi scheme with thousands of Australian's superannuation. 'Slater and Gordon understand that the liquidators of First Guardian have observed issues arising from co-mingling of investor funds, such that investors' monies were mixed up and used to pay for other investors' redemptions, or investment commitments and management fees, when ordinarily those redemptions, commitments, and fees should have come from income generated through investment activities,' they told NewsWire. 'Conduct of this kind is common to that seen in Ponzi schemes, and how this was allowed to occur forms a part of our investigation.' Mr Wei has urged investors who have been affected to come forward and contact the firm to help shaped the best path forward for recovery of their funds.
AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
The secretive digital vigilantes taking on the tech giants
Every morning, Max Y wakes up, logs into Instagram, and tries to track down sexually explicit content. Then he reports it. This is not his job – Max Y is a video editor – but he is also part of a group of so-called digital vigilantes, appalled by what they see on social media. They are convinced that Meta and other major technology companies are not doing nearly enough to stop the circulation of pornographic content, particularly to younger users. And they are stepping in to fill the gap. Max Y is an Australian in his 20s but declined to provide his real name. He refers to the posts as 'marks' and says the sexually explicit content isn't hard to find.
