Bondi victims remembered in touching moment at Albany Town Hall for 15 Pillars of Light movement

As the sun set on Thursday, a beam of bright light shot into the sky from Albany Town Hall, in a moving act of solidarity for the National Day of Mourning commemorating the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre.

The white light, which was projected from York Street building just after 7.30pm when dusk set in, remained shining until midnight.

The town hall was one of 15 landmarks across the country, and the only one in regional WA, selected to contribute as part of the Federal Government’s 15 Pillars of Light initiative, honouring the 15 victims who tragically lost their lives in the shooting on December 14 last year.

Alongside the official WA locations — Albany Town Hall and Parliament House — other monuments including Optus Stadium, Matagarup Bridge, and the Graham Farmer Freeway Tunnel, were also lit up in white.

Albany mayor Greg Stocks said that he was “honoured” that Albany was chosen to be WA’s regional representative and hoped the city’s 2026 bicentenary program served as a “shining example of multiculturalism” against the starkness of the tragedy.

“Albany is one of those multicultural societies that lives in a united, peaceful and harmonious way, and so I think that’s one of the reasons, perhaps, that we’ve been chosen to be the representative is that we unite as a community,” he said.

“Our 2026 program is about bringing everybody together, and so we can be a shining example throughout 2026 of what needs to happen in WA and Australia.

“I think it goes without saying that this is a national tragedy, and we need to address it as leaders and as a community, to come together to say this is not good enough, and to remember those people.”

Samantha Rowe MLC said the light installation granted all Australians a chance to “take a moment to pay tribute and reflect”.

“I think it’s a great opportunity as a country, and particularly in a regional town like Albany, to be able to stop and show some compassion, some unity, and have that chance to reflect,” she said.

“(For Albany to be chosen at a site) says a lot about the community of Albany — I think it says a lot about the people that make up this great town.”

The Australian flag atop the hall and at the City of Albany’s administration buildings remained at half mast on Thursday as a mark of respect.