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Defiant Australians united in Bali grief

Wednesday Oct 12 16:26 AEST

Grieving but defiant Australians turned Wednesday's third anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombings into a rallying point in the war against terrorism.

At ceremonies around the nation and on the Indonesian resort island, Australians remembered the 202 people killed, including 88 of their own nationals, in the Kuta nightclub bombings of October 12, 2002.

In Canberra, a survivor of the 2005 Bali attacks made an impassioned call for Australians to stand together and never let terrorism prevail.

"The important thing is not to let it defeat us," urged Newcastle university student Joe Frost as Indonesian police reportedly identified one of the three suicide bombers who struck 11 days ago.

"We have to stand together and just keep battling because it's not a war that we're going to win any time soon, if ever," he said.

"We can't let it get us down.

"We've just got to keep standing strong."

Mr Frost represented the hard-hit city of Newcastle at a parliament house service attended by Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.

An equally determined message came from Australians in Bali.

"I will not let the terrorists keep me away," said Queenslander Bill Hardy, 57, whose 20-year-old son Billy died while attending a rugby tournament as a member of the Southport Sharks.

"I loved my son dearly and I will come as long as I can walk."

Mr Hardy was among an estimated 1,000 people from 21 affected nations who attended a "ground zero" commemoration guarded by 1,500 police using metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer attacked the "ideology of hate" displayed by extremists.

"The attempts of the terrorists to spread disorder and dismay, to drive people, faiths and neighbours apart, and to attack the inspirations of Indonesians for a free future failed in 2002," Mr Downer told the gathering.

"There have been further attacks, further deaths, further grief, but those people will fail yet again."

Mr Downer and Justice Minister Chris Ellison earlier laid wreaths at the Jimbaran Bay restaurants where bombers struck on October 1, killing 23 people including four Australians.

During their two-day visit, the ministers will press Indonesia to ban the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah which is blamed for the attacks.

In Sydney, more than 200 people observed a minute's silence at Coogee Beach, where a new memorial honours 20 local residents killed three years ago.

The father of Sydney teenager Tom Singer, who died in the blasts, said he shared the pain of those affected by the latest attacks.

"We know where you are at the moment," he said, "and like you, we cannot comprehend how anyone can perpetrate such a senseless act on an individual and community like ours."

NSW Premier Morris Iemma paid tribute not only to lives lost but to the resilience, faith and spirit of survivors and their families.

In Perth, Premier Geoff Gallop told mourners the latest bombings made the 2002 attacks even more poignant.

Dr Gallop joined about 100 people at a dawn service at King's Park, where a memorial is designed to catch the sun's first rays and illuminate the names of the 15 WA residents killed in 2002.

The gathering also remembered Busselton's Brendan Fitzgerald, 16, who was killed when a bomb ripped through the Kuta restaurant where he was eating with his father and sister on October 1.

Peter Hughes, whose blackened and blistered face became a defining image of the 2002 Sari Club bombings, said the most recent attacks brought memories flooding back "as clear as day".

"They have put a dent in today's date a bit, but the whole place seemed determined to bounce back," he said.

"People are just sick of it."

In Melbourne, hundreds gathered at the unveiling of a permanent memorial including a fountain, a pool and 202 lights representing the victims, 22 of them Victorians.

On October 12 each year, the fountain will recede and become a reflection pool.

"The memorial means so much to us," said Merna Kernot, whose daughter died in the attack.

"It will be a reminder of the tragedy, and hopefully create a focus for all of us to work towards a peaceful world where this kind of suffering no longer occurs."

Premier Steve Bracks said Australians loved Bali and its way of life, rendering the attacks on it "even more appalling".