On Wednesday, 7 August, the 20-year anniversary event of the Father Tony Glynn Japan-Australia Centre Gallery was held. The Centre is located at the Lismore campus of Southern Cross University, New South Wales. CLAIR Sydney was invited by the university to participate in this event.
The City of Lismore, where the campus is located, is the home of Father Tony Glynn, who worked to promote reconciliation between Australia and Japan in the context of severe post-war anti-Japanese sentiment. The city has a sister city relationship with Yamatotakada City in Nara Prefecture, which is known as the first Japan-Australia sister city affiliation. Father Paul Glynn, whose elder brother is Father Tony Glynn, was deeply involved in the partnership.
The Centre was built through the efforts of Tazuko McLaren OAM of Southern Cross University, who was moved by the deep love of the brothers Glynn for Japan, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The commemorative event was attended by about 100 people from Australia and Japan. Many people who had been close to Father Tony Glynn visited from Nara Prefecture, Japan where he lived before his death. On the 30th anniversary of his death, the participants reminisced the personal character of the deceased and their memories of that time. All of them also deeply appreciated the good Australia-Japan relationship that exists today thanks to the efforts of Father Tony Glynn.
On the day of the event, five high school students from Yamatotakada were staying in Lismore as short-term exchange students. After the memorial function, they watched the film “The Railway of Love”, which documents the achievements of Father Tony Glynn. The students also exchanged views with Mrs McLaren on the history of Australia-Japan relations to date.
We express our gratitude once again to the brothers Father Tony and Father Paul Glynn and all those involved for their efforts over the years to promote exchange between Australia and Japan. We will continue to actively support sister city exchange activities.
For more information about the 20-year anniversary event of the Father Tony Glynn Japan-Australia Centre Gallery, please visit the following link:
For more information about the brothers Father Tony and Father Paul Glynn, please visit the following link:
