Many people were watching the late night news just around 11pm in Sydney on September 11. The regular news coverage switched immediately to the New York situation as it happened. Many Australians saw the second plane go into the WTC in real time. The next morning, we all awoke to a different world. Friends and colleagues who had stayed up late were groggy with exhaustion and grief. The rest took several hours to shake off a feeling of utter incomprehension.

Blanket coverage on television (all channels) and the public radio followed. The channels took feed from CNN or other American networks. The Sydney Morning Herald must have halted it's presses at 11pm as the Wednesday morning headlines carried the banner "Terror war on the US' with a 4 page spread of pictures and comments.

Our Prime Minister, Mr Howard, was visiting Washington on a state visit, having spent some of the previous day with Mr Bush. The US Ambassador to Australia , Mr Schaeffer, visited him at the Australian embassy there in the morning after the attacks and the Prime Minister's first act was to embrace him. In the words of Mr Schaeffer, at a very moving service on the following Monday, "this was more than a Prime Minister embracing an ambassador. It was Australia embracing America" (SMH Tuesday 18).

That spontaneous act reflected what many Australians felt when the extent of the devastation became apparent. The US and Australia have been close allies since World War 2 when Darwin in Australia was bombed by the same planes that attacked Pearl Harbor. Here in Australia, memorial services, a day of mourning, a special Parliamentary session, shrines of flowers and messages outside American institutions have all been ways that our sympathies have been extended.

Many Australians had been killed in this terrorist attack as well - the number is still unclear. Young Australians attracted to the challenges of working the New York died along with many other people from different countries.

The terrorist attacks in New York have fed into local issues. There have been concerns that Australian Islamic communities might suffer a backlash with politicians and leaders calling for tolerance and calm.

The talk has now turned to what the US response is likely to be and how it will impact on the future of the world. Some letters to the newspapers express the desire to see caution and wisdom otherwise the cycle of terror and violence will not end no matter how many armaments are deployed. Others feel that this act is so monstrous that it needs immediate redress.

Exactly one year after the Sydney Harbour Bridge was adorned with the Olympic rings, it now flies has flags at half mast. A festival was planned for the first anniversary of the Sydney Olympics, opening with the Olympic cauldron being relit in a new permanent on the Olympic site. Despite the sadness, the festival went ahead and people came feeling the need to re-assert their community and humanity.

Looking across from the main stadium to what was the Athlete's village - now a new suburb - it's hard to remember that just a year ago it was full of people of all nations who competed and mixed without rancour. We all hope that we will see that again soon.

Ruth McDermott is a part time academic in design at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

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