The memorial service on Wednesday was attended by 19 of the survivors, whose names are also on a plaque at the club. Mathew Dent, Mathew Grant and Anthony Wallace were not able to make it.
The 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings was commemorated on Wednesday in Bali, Australia and in Forbes.
The Forbes Rugby Club organised a memorial service to remember the three members who did not return and to stand with the survivors, their families and friends.
The service, lead by Chris Sweeney, was held at the Bali Memorial Stone erected at the club to commemorate the three players, Paul Cronin, Greg Sanderson and Brad Ridley, who tragically lost their lives in the 2002 Bali bombings, and for the survivors of the club.
Three bouquets were laid at the memorial stone as people gathered for the service. The service was attended by 19 of the survivors, whose names are also on a plaque at the club. Mathew Dent, Mathew Grant and Anthony Wallace were not able to attend the memorial service in Forbes.
They were all part of the 25-member team of the Forbes Platypi who travelled to Bali after winning their first premiership for an end-of-season celebration. They were at a club in Bali’s Kuta district when the bombs went off.
The event hit the close community of Forbes very hard. The memorial was erected to serve as a place where people can reflect and pray for the families of Paul Cronin, Greg Sanderson and Brad Ridley, and other victims of the bombing, and also for the surviving boys of the tragic event.
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 27 Britons, 7 Americans, 6 Swedes and 3 Danes). A further 209 people were injured.
Various members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a violent Islamist group, were convicted in relation to the bombings, including three individuals who were sentenced to death.
The names of the victims and survivors of the Forbes Rugby Club.
FAMILIAR FACES
We are told never to lose sight of
where we are going
At the expense of where we’ve been,
Then another senseless tragedy
appears on our TV screens.
But this time the names are familiar,
With faces that we’ve known.
And that small town on the Lachlan
Once again becomes our home.
We may not be there to give comfort
or reminisce over a beer,
But we have to tell you our hearts do ache,
And our eyes have shed a tear.
The boys will know you’ve rallied around,
As you do in time of strife,
And they’ll know today you’ll mourn their death,
But tomorrow celebrate their life.
Coz that’s the strength of our little town,
Give support to one and all
And combine our courage to fight the pain,
To emerge walking proud and tall.
Our names may now only ring a bell.
All of us who still call you home,
But I hope you’ll find some solace in the fact,
You’ll never mourn alone.
Phillip Parsons
(Phillip, who grew up in Forbes, wrote this poem 20 years ago as a reflection on the Bali tragedy.)