Condolence card from Thien to the victims of the Bali bombings

View this record on the National Museum of Australia's website

Type: Greeting cards
Date: 2002
Place: Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Materials: Paper
Collection: Bali Bombings 2002 Memorial - Parliament of Victoria collection
Accession number: 2004.0012.0034

Description

Rectangular folded pink card illustrated with a child's drawing on the front and condolences for the Bali bombing victims on the inside. The corners of the crimson border are decorated with small flowers, cherrys and strawberries. A girl kneels on a lawn amongst scattered flowers, to pray beside a grave flanked by two vases of flowers. A sad looking sun is in the top proper left corner. "I felt really sad when I heared [sic] all the terrible things that / happened in Bali. I felt sorry for all the people in Bali that was [sic] / hurt or killed. I hope that all the injured people will get / Better soon, and for the people who die [sic] to live life in a soft / place and I also hope Bali will turn to a soft place / like it was in the begining / Best / wishes / Thien (grade 5)" is written in blue inside the card.

About the collection

The Bali Bombings 2002 Memorial Collection - Parliament of Victoria collection is a small sample of the large amount of material left on the Victorian Parliamentary steps in the two weeks following the Bali bombing on 12 October 2002. The collection is made up of cards, letters, various paintings by children, wooden Catholic cross with fabric lei, wooden sculpture of a Balinese surfer carrying a surfboard, soft toys such as butterflies, soft koala teddy bears, dolls and football, two small Australian flags, small pieces of jewellery, some textile objects such as a satin throw and fabric flowers, vegemite jar, a 'In Memory' book signed by the members of the Ivanhoe Grammar School and community and a bound collection of children's drawings and letters from the students of Penleigh and Essendon Grammar schools. Late on the evening of Saturday 12 October 2002, two bombs exploded in the crowded Paddy's Bar and the Sari nightclub on Jalan Legian, Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia. Shortly afterwards a third bomb exploded at the US consulate in Denpassar, Bali. Exact figures were difficult to substantiate, but at least 202 people were killed in the first two blasts and over 300 injured. Of the two hundred or more dead, eighty-eight were Australians. The deadly attacks produced profound shock in Australia. For many, this event seemed to bring home the immediacy of global terrorism, which had come to public prominence the previous year in New York and Washington.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:02:40 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-24. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.