REFLECTION

In 2014, Sydney endured one of the darkest moments in our history. A lone gunman, Maron Haron Monis, held hostage ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt chocolate café located at Martin Place in Sydney, Australia. After a 16-hour standoff, a gunshot was heard from inside and police officers from the Tactical Operations Unit stormed the café. Tragically, two hostages along with Monis lost their lives with three other hostages and a police officer were injured by police gunfire during the raid.

Reflection commemorates these victims. In the days after the siege the area was transformed by more than 100,000 bunches of flowers, inspiring the monument which has 210 hand crafted flowers set into the ground and covered by glass.  It was designed with the help of the victims’ families and includes aqua hydrangeas, which were victim Katrina Dawson’s favourite, and yellow sunflowers, which were victim Tori Johnson’s favourite.

The plaque and the series of artificial flowers are set into the pavement of Martin Place, near the intersection with Castlereagh Street, one block distance from the Lindt Café on Phillip Street and is where the floral tributes were laid by the people of Sydney.

IMAGE CREDIT: Zarina Dara