Twenty years after terrorist bombs lit the skies of Denpasar, Aussie survivors, their families and friends have returned to the Balinese city.
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United in sorrow, about 300 people including emergency service personnel and government officials packed rows of seats at the Australian Consulate General on Wednesday.
It was October 12, 2002 just after 11pm when bombs detonated by Islamic terrorists tore through Kuta's Sari Club and Paddy's Bar killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Mick Travers was among an Australian Federal Police forensic team sent to Sanglah Hospital where many critically injured victims were taken.
"I'd been in the AFP for 20 years but never imagined a tragedy on this scale. I found it almost incomprehensible that someone could do this," he said.
Australian survivor Andrew Csabi, who was transported to Darwin, ruminated on surviving the bombs and his appreciation of life.
"I'm forever grateful to our first responders," he said.
"I was granted a second chance of life and I've made every minute count. I was often told my life was spared for a reason and how lucky I am."
Outside the consulate, survivor David Ure, 42, said he clearly remembers the Sari Club carnage.
On his first overseas holiday he was at the Sari Club with his girlfriend when the roof collapsed on his head from the force of the blast.
"I was able to punch a hole through the roof and find an exit and also saved about a half a dozen people by pushing them over a wall."
Mr Ure suffered superficial wounds after being near the front of the club when the bomb detonated.
"I feel exceptionally lucky. My body held up fine but it's the mental side of things that weigh you down. It's a journey that never leaves.
"I tried to think clearly and not panic. It's something that my father, who was a policeman, instilled in me. I wouldn't be here today otherwise. A lot of people froze in panic."
Federal assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts also addressed Wednesday's memorial.
"That terrible night, against fire and smoke and rubble, brave first responders - official and unofficial - saved many lives," he said.
He stressed the strengthening of ties between Indonesia and Australia forged at the time of, and since, the atrocities.
"Doctors and nurses administered critical care in Bali, in Darwin and in Perth. Officials ... from the Australian Defence Forces and the Australian Federal Police worked alongside Indonesian counterparts which epitomises the spirit of co-operation which sits at the heart of the relationship between our two nations."
Most of the 202 people killed in the bombings were under the age of 40, and the youngest was 13.
"Nothing will bring back the lives and the innocence that we lost that day. But 20 years later we can say that terror failed," Mr Watts said.
Australian Associated Press
