Accountant Curtis Cheng took pride in working at Police Headquarters at Parramatta as he felt his job was making a contribution to society.
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And, almost 12 months after the father-of-two was shot dead in an act of terrorism as he left work for the weekend, that building has been named in his honour.
His widow, Selina Cheng, and children, Alpha and Zilvia, were present at the building on Friday as Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and Premier Mike Baird unveiled a plaque renaming it the Curtis Cheng Centre.
Alpha Cheng said his father, a police accountant for 17 years, never saw coming to work as the "daily grind".
"This was a place where he felt he was making a contribution," Mr Cheng told the memorial service in his father's honour.
"He was an unassuming man who would not have expected such attention."
Curtis Cheng was shot dead by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar on a Friday afternoon before the October long weekend last year.
Mr Scipione said 12 months after Mr Cheng's death, the shock was being felt by the NSW Police Force today.
"It was an act of terror, the likes of we had not seen in Australia and we struggled to comprehend," Mr Scipione told the ceremony.
"It seems Curtis was killed not for who he was but for what he represented ... he didn't wear a uniform, he didn't carry a gun but, on that day and at that time, to his killer, Curtis was the NSW Police.
"This was a strike on us, at home, a place where we should feel the safest."
Mr Scipione said the support and camaraderie shown in the year since Mr Cheng's death had only united the force and made it stronger.
"Curtis himself was the perfect example of what unity and diversity means," he said.
"[He's] a reminder that one ordinary man, with a gentle spirit and a caring heart can make an enormous difference."
The three special constables who shot Jabar dead before he could continue his attack were also present at Friday's ceremony and laid a wreath in Mr Cheng's honour.
Mr Baird told the Cheng family that nothing would replace their husband and father but naming the police headquarters in his honour would remind everyone of the man who stood for so much.
"We are so sorry. We are so sorry, but please know from all the colleagues that are here, the entire police force, the entire state, we are proud of who Curtis was," Mr Baird said.
"We are proud of his love for you and we are so proud that, through this, we have got the opportunity to get to know him."