HISTORY

Cowra’s relationship with the Japanese started with the siting of a P.O.W camp during WWII.

In the early hours of August 5, 1944 over 500 Japanese POW staged a mass suicidal break for freedom.

In the ensuing action 231 Japanese Prisoners of War and four Australian soldiers were killed.

Following the cessation of hostilities, members of the Cowra Sub-Branch of the Returned Servicemen’s League (R.S.L) visited the Australian War Cemetery at regular intervals to care for the graves of their comrades. In 1948 they decided to forget the past and also assume the responsibility for the care and the maintenance of the Japanese section of the cemetery in conjunction with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

In 1960 the Japanese Government were considering the repatriation of their war dead to Japan, however they were so impressed with the attitude of the R.S.L members that they decided to bring all their war dead from other parts of Australia to be re-buried at Cowra.

The Cowra Tourist Development Corporation (Cowra Tourism Corporation, as it was then known) conceived the idea of further developing this unique friendship with Japan by the establishment of a Japanese Garden at Cowra. The building of the Garden has come about as a direct extension of the cemetery.

In 1971, Mr Ken Nakajima, world famous landscape gardener was appointed as designer of the Garden and is responsible for the final site choice. In October 1979 the Garden became a fulltime tourist attraction, operating seven days a week (excluding Christmas Day). In November 1986 stage two commenced completing the original plans of the Garden.

The Garden was made possible through donations received from both Australian and Japanese Governments and private entities.

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