Cowra NSW Australia

Travelled: 162km from Crookwell via Boorowa  to Cowra NSW

Visited: Cowra Japanese Garden

Stay: Cowra Caravan Park, Boorowa Caravan Park

On our way to Cowra today we stopped to have a look at Boorowa which is a charming country town with some lovely buildings along its main street and an impressive blue stone church depicting its strong catholic influence during the late 1800's.

We then continued our journey to Cowra and set up camp at the caravan park in town. Along with being a prosperous rural town it has a unique history due to its role as a prisoner of war camp during World War II. In 1944 378 Japanese POW's attempted to escape. This dramatic event has promoted the district to focus on healing and reconciliation by providing places and information regarding this history.  During our stay we visit some of these places.

Located in Civic Square is Australia's World Peace Bell which is a replica of the one at the United Nations building in New York.

The Bellevue Hill Lookout along the Scenic Drive above the Japanese Gardens offers panoramic views over the Lachlan valley and the town. 

The Guard Tower stands as a reminder of the POW camp that was situated at the end of Sakura Avenue.

There are also some remains of buildings that were once here for not only Japanese prisoners but also Italians and Indonesians.

The Japanese War cemetery is officially the only of its kind in the world. There are 522 graves consisting of Japanese POWs, nationals who died during the attack on Darwin and civilians who died in interment camps.

The highlight was the 5 ha Japanese Garden established in 1978, funded by Australian and Japanese governments and private donations. The representation of mountains, rivers, waterfalls and lagoons set amongst 113 flora species and 120 different birds achieving the overall effect of serenity and harmony.