ArchivesACT has chosen as its Find of the Month for July a record showing the connection between Canberra’s sister city agreement with Nara, Japan and the later construction of the Canberra Nara Peace Park in 1999.
The Archives said the record revealed details of the story behind the decision to have the two cities agree to a sister city relationship.
“In 1999, a file was raised to document the planning and arrangements for the official opening of the Canberra Nara Park, now known as the Canberra Nara Peace Park,” ArchivesACT said.
“The construction of the park within the Lennox Gardens site was nearing completion in April 1999 when Chief Minister Kate Carnell invited the media to a ‘special preview walkthrough’,” it said.
“The official opening, however, didn’t take place until October 1999 when the Deputy Mayor of Nara, accompanied by a nine-member delegation, visited Canberra for the occasion.”
The Archives said people who attended the official opening of the park were told that the idea for its construction originated in 1995 when the Mayor of Nara gave two stone lanterns to the people of Canberra, the Kasuga lantern and the Yukimi lantern, both identical to lanterns that stood in Nara Park in Nara.
“The citizens of Nara had contributed to the funding for the construction of the park and the names of the 10,000 Nara citizens who had made donations were sealed in a time capsule beneath the Kasuga lantern,” it said.
Further information on ArchivesACT’s ‘Find of the Month’ for July can be accessed at this PS News link.
