On Wednesday, 7 August 1963, the very first Australia-Japan Sister City relationship was established between Lismore in NSW and Yamato-Takada in Nara prefecture. This year, 7 August, also Wednesday, marks the remarkable 50 years anniversary and the memorial ceremony was held at Lismore.
About 50 guests including a delegation and children from Yamato-Takada visited Lismore, and many of those who are involved in Sister City exchanges at Lismore also attended the ceremony. Over 150 guests celebrated this memorial day.
During the ceremony, Mayor of Lismore, Ms. Jenny Dowell, Mayor of Yamato-Takada, Mr. Masakatsu Yoshida and Father Paul Glynn each made exceptional speeches to celebrate this meaningful 50th anniversary. The Sister City relationship was established by the immense effort of Farther Paul Glynn 50 years ago on the same day, when people had anti-Japanese sentiment, as the effects of World War II were still heart felt.
From CLAIR, Ms. Yoko Kimura (CLAIR’s Chairperson of the Board of Directors) made a speech to celebrate the special day. The veil was removed by both Mayors from a memorial plaque in front of the Japanese maple tree and wished for an everlasting Sister City relationship.
The anniversary dinner was held in the same evening, a memorial cake cut by both Mayors and exchanging gifts made the day lively. As the most important moment, both mayors signed a Reaffirmation of their Sister City Relationship, with the hope of further deepening ties.
The next day of celebrations, Yamato-Takada Day, the cultural exchange event between both cities, was held by people from Yamato-Takada. In this event, Japanese cultural activities like Dance, Kite Flying, Tea Ceremony, Paintings, Origami, Calligraphy etc, were introduced and given to over 500 Lismore school children and residents. These participants will one day take over these goodwill activities.
