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The Police Memorial commemorates police killed in the line of duty in the Rockhampton district.

The parents of a policewoman killed just outside Rockhampton say a memorial honouring the 12 officers who have died in the district is an important monument. Sandra and Graham Lena's daughter, Sondra, died after she was hit by a car at a roadblock in 1992 - she was 20-years-old.

A memorial was unveiled yesterday outside the Rockhampton police station, bearing the names of officers who have been killed in the line of duty, including Constable Sondra Lena and her friend, Senior Constable Norm Watt, who was shot at Alton Downs in 2000.

Sandra Lena thanked the police service for its support. "For a parent to lose a child, I think the biggest fear is that they're going to die and nobody's going to think about them again," she said. "I think a memorial like this just, it keeps them here, it makes us aware and for us it means everything."

Greg Watt, the brother of Senior Constable Norm Watt, says the monument is a fitting tribute to the fallen officers and their families, and highlights their dangerous job.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson says he hopes other regions will follow Rockhampton's lead in establishing its own memorial. "Whilst we don't forget them...and we say and we truly don't, this helps in that regard," he said. "I think it's also opportune for family members who are still here in Rockhampton, and live here, where on the occasion, on the date, on the anniversary of the death of their loved one, and for the police officers to remember their colleague. It's an opportunity to go to a place, such as the memorial, place flowers or even have a short service."
ABC News, 3 June 2003. 

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