This was published 9 years ago
Cowra, New South Wales: Travel guide and things to do
On golden pond ... farms and vineyards near Cowra.Credit: Hamilton Lund
Cowra is a town of 9500 people situated on the Lachlan River, 310 metres above sea-level and 320 km west of Sydney at the junction of the Mid Western and Olympic Highways. It is the commercial and administrative centre of a shire in which the major industries are livestock, wool scouring, vegetable growing and processing, vineyards, furniture making and tourism.
Cowra is noted for its historical and natural attractions, the magnificent Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, quality restaurants, wineries, galleries, craft shops and horse riding. The public identity of the town has become bound up with the Cowra breakout of 1944 (in which Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a local camp during World War II) and the subsequent association with Japan. This history has led the town to focus on and promote the values of pacifism and internationalism, which are at the centre of the annual Festival of Understanding.
Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the Wiradjuri people. The first known white man in the area was George Wilson Evans who passed near the townsite in 1815. He named the area the Oxley Plains after his superior the surveyor-general. John Oxley, guided by Aborigines, investigated a portion of the Lachlan River and the adjacent lands in 1817, deeming it 'unfit for white settlement'. He named the river after the then governor Lachlan Macquarie.
In 1831 cattlemen Arthur Rankin and James Sloan from Bathurst became the first white settlers on the Lachlan. In the early days the townsite was a river crossing known as 'Coura Rocks'. Some sources indicate that a cattle station with this name was established by a Reverend Fulton in subsequent years.
The first hotel on the townsite was established in 1846. About 1847 the crossing became known as Cowra and the village was proclaimed in 1849. In the 1850s the river crossing was used by gold prospectors headed for Lambing Flat (Young) and Grenfell. A school was established in 1857 and a bridge over the Lachlan built in 1870. The railway arrived in 1886 and Cowra attained local government in 1888.
Reef gold was discovered at Mt McDonald to the south-east (near what is now Wyangala Dam) in the 1880s and a settlement of 500 people developed. It was named after the McDonald brothers who first discovered gold in the area. Alluvial gold was also found at Woods Flat near Woodstock and in small quantities amidst the sands of the Lachlan River.
A bridge across the Lachlan was built at Cowra from 1891 to 1893. At the time it was the country's longest single-span and total span bridge. A telephone exchange was established in 1901, a water supply in 1909, a gasworks in 1912 and electric lighting was introduced in 1924.
Cowra POW Camp and the Cowra Breakout
A large army training camp was established just outside Cowra in 1940 which trained some 70 000 personnel throughout World War II. The following year, a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp was built at the north-eastern outskirts of town. On 5 August, 1944, this camp became the site of the largest mass POW escape in British military history. It was also the only such escape attempt to occur in Australia.
At that time the camp contained about 4000 prisoners who were held in four separate compounds of 17 acres each. A thoroughfare 700 metres long and 45 metres wide, known as Broadway, divided Camps B and C from Camps A and D. Adjacent Broadway was a 10-metre strip known as No Man's Land, on each side of which was barbed-wire security fencing. Camp B, hopelessly overcrowded, held 1104 Japanese POWs.
On 3 June, 1944, a Korean prisoner reported a conversation in which he heard about a plan among the Japanese to attack the garrison, seize arms and ammunition and escape. As a result security was stepped up. Consequently, on 4 August, the leader of Camp B was handed a list of internees to be transferred to the POW camp at Hay on 7 August. At 1.30 a.m. of 5 August a bugle sounded and the prisoners of Camp B opened the hut doors. Screaming furiously, two groups - armed with knives, chisels, forks, saws, axe handles and baseball bats - rushed the wire separating them from Broadway while two other groups headed for the perimeter wire on the other side of the camp. They threw blankets over the barbed wire, or crawled under it, while others dressed in heavy clothing, threw themselves on the wire for others to climb over. 20 buildings were burned down due to prisoners overturning heating braziers. The Australian Recruit Training Centre, 3 km away, was alerted by telephone and flares.
Two privates, who manned one of the Vickers machine gun trailers, were overrun and murdered, although Private Hardy managed to sabotage his gun before his death. Another private was stabbed to death in the fracas and a lieutenant was killed during the round-up the following morning. Another four Australian personnel were wounded and a civilian from Blayney died after a gun discharged in his vehicle during the round-up.
378 Japanese POWs escaped although the media were kept entirely in the dark about the event and local civilians were given partial and at times false information.
Within nine days 334 escapees were recaptured by the authorities and by civilians. One POW reached Eugowra, 50 km away. Others had been killed and some committed suicide - two by laying their heads on railroad tracks. In all 231 Japanese died and 108 were wounded - three dying subsequently of their wounds. The organisers of the break-out had ordered that civilians were to remain unharmed and this proved to be the case.
One charming story entailed a Mrs Weir who refused to hand over two escapees until she had given the men tea and scones as they had not eaten for days. The men in question returned to the Weir farm in the 1980s to thank the family.
Interestingly, the many Italian POWs were, for the most part, cheerful and cooperative and worked agreeably outside the camp while the Japanese POWs were surly, difficult and resentful. Attempts at employing them outside the camp had proved a failure due to their aggressive behaviour. Their lack of cooperation and the breakout itself arose from an overwhelming sense of shame engendered by a code of honour which viewed capture as a disgrace to themselves, their families and their country. Japanese soldiers were supposed to commit suicide rather than be humiliated by the subservience implicit in imprisonment. Indeed most of the prisoners were taken when they were too weak to offer resistance or they were merchant seamen scooped from the waters. They gave false names as they felt news of their capture would shame their families while the Japanese authorities reported all those missing in action as dead. When informed of the deaths during the breakout, the Japanese authorities asserted that those killed must have been Japanese civilians as, it contended, there was no such thing as a Japanese POW. When the internees returned many felt their 'shame' would render them unworthy of return to Japanese society (some expected to be executed) and half did not tell their families they had been POWs.
A Japanese war cemetery was established by agreement with the Japanese government in 1964. It now contains the remains of all Japanese POWs and civilian internees who died during their imprisonment in World War II.
A student exchange program was established in 1970 between Cowra High School and the Seikei High School in Kichijyouji in Tokyo. The Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre was set up with the aid of the Japanese government in 1978-79 to honour the dead on both sides.
A number of annual events grace the Cowra calendar. The Festival of Understanding (which features a different guest nation each year) is held in March, the Cowra Picnic Races and the Cowra Wine Show in July, the Cowra Show in late September, Sakura Matsui (the Cherry Blossom Festival) in early October, and, at the visitors' centre in November, the Art and Craft exhibition and Rose Fair.
Things to see
Tourist Information
Cowra Visitor Information Centre is located on the western side of the bridge, in Olympic Park, on the Mid Western Hwy. It screens a very good nine-minute film concerning the Cowra breakout and Cowra's subsequent role in the world peace movement. The centre can furnish pamphlets and information regarding local attractions, accommodation, eateries, coming events, tour operators, arts-and-crafts shops and art galleries. The centre is fronted by an excellent rose garden (1000 bushes and 107 varieties) and it is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6342 4333.
The Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre
The magnificent Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre was erected on a 5-ha site as a symbol of the historical ties between Cowra and Japan. It was funded by the Australian and Japanese governments and by private donations but is maintained on a non-profit basis by tourism.
The garden was designed by Ken Nakajima, a world-renowned figure in traditional Japanese landscape gardening, in liaison with the School of Environmental Design from Canberra College of Advanced Education.
Mr Nakajima has written that 'The Japanese treasure nature and try to live with it. My Cowra garden takes this principle into consideration as a 'motto' and treasures all existing objects. In this respect, you will note that all gum trees and rocks on the site have been utilised in their original state'.
The garden was designed to reflect the total Japanese landscape. The mountain represents all Japanese mountains. A stream flows down the mountain through a waterfall to a lagoon (representing the mountain ponds) and on to a larger koi-filled lake which equates with the ocean. Japan's cities are represented by the buildings, trimmed hedges suggest rolling hills and each gravel path offers new perspectives to convey the variety of views when meandering through the Japanese landscape. The garden was also designed to blend in with the indigenous environs. Consequently gum trees surround the garden.
A traditional tea house sits on an island. There are wooden footbridges, a wisteria pergola, a bonsho (calling bell), a temple lantern, a lookout over Cowra and the valley, manicured shrubs and lawns and a delicate and symbolic arrangement of rocks. The 113 species of flora includes water lilies, cherry trees, wisteria, chrysanthemums, magnolia and Australian natives and there are over 120 bird species in the garden. The overall effect is one of serenity and harmony.
Traditional Japanese design has been employed in the construction of the Cultural Centre which houses a display of Japanese art including the Somenishiki Ornamental Vase, 500 hand-carved Japanese dolls, Nanga paintings and a fossilised chrysanthemum estimated to be over 70 million years old.
Within the complex is the Bonsai House (with Bonsai display), a pottery house, a gift shop, a nursery, and the Chabana Restaurant which fuses Japanese and Australian elements and furnishes views over the garden. In the car park is a Japanese rock sculpture which symbolises peace.
In early October, when the cherry blossoms bloom, the centre becomes the focus of Sakura Matsuri, the Cherry Blossom Festival during which there are demonstrations of Japanese arts and crafts, recitals on the shakuhachi flute, tea ceremonies, martial arts demonstrations, kite flying and Japanese food. The complex is open from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6341 2233.
To get there, head north off the highway (Kendall St) into Brisbane St which becomes Scenic Drive before bending sharply to the right into the Bellevue Hill Reserve. You will soon come to a turnoff on the left to the centre.
Sakura Ave extends northwards from the centre past the POW campsite to the war cemetery. When completed, cherry trees will line the entire route.
Bellevue Hill Lookout and Fauna Reserve
If you do not turn off Scenic Drive into the Japanese Garden you will soon come to a ring road on the right-hand side which leads past a lookout that offers views over the Lachlan Valley and the town. Adjacent the lookout is Bellevue Hill Fauna Reserve. There is a walking track through the reserve with picnic-barbecue facilities.
The POW Camp
To the north of the Cultural Centre, Sakura Ave leads by the remnants associated with the POW camp (see the introduction to Cowra for the full story). At the corner of Sakura Ave and Farm Rd (Evans St) is a memorial cairn and a monument to the many Italian POWs in the camp who took no place in the breakout and who willingly, and with good grace, did much labour in the area.
From the memorial cairn there is a walking track that takes in the remains of the campsite. The land on the western side of Sakura Avenue contains a large concrete slab by the roadside which marks the site of the camp gaol. West of this slab is an old stone military building which predates the camp and which was used as a storage shed and just to the south of the slab are the remains of the camp headquarters. To the south-west of the latter is the site of four water storage tanks and due south of that is the original entry road. The AMF (Australian Military Forces) quarters were located on the other side of Sakura Ave, most of which is now private property.
A guiding map and pamphlet is available from the visitors' centre which also has plenty of other excellent material relating to the camp and the general context of its existence.
The Cemeteries
The Japanese POWs who died in the breakout were originally placed in mass graves. The on-going care bestowed upon these sites by the local RSL impressed Japanese visitors and, in 1964, following discussions between the Japanese embassy and the local council, a war cemetery was established to which the remains of all Japanese POWs who died in Australia were transferred. It was funded by the Japanese government and the land was ceded to the Japanese government. It contains 522 graves, including Japanese nationals who died during the attack on Darwin, and Japanese civilians who died in internment camps.
In the adjacent general cemetery are the tombs of the four Australian personnel killed during the breakout and a monument associated with the graves of Indonesian detainees who died of natural causes in the camp.
To access the cemeteries head north along Sakura Ave or follow Redfern St north of the highway for a little over 3 km and turn right into Doncaster Drive.
Heritage Buildings
Start an investigation of the town's few historic buildings at Garden and Montgomerie Solicitors on the northern side of Kendal St, between Lachlan and Macquarie Sts. It dates from 1875. Nearby are Allan Gray & Co Auctioneers. This building was erected in 1861. The facade has been changed over the years.
Turn left into Macquarie St. The original St Peter's Presbyterian Church, built of brick, is situated to the rear of the present structure which dates from 1913.
Return to Kendal St and proceed east to the Brisbane St corner where you will find the courthouse, a Federation-style brick building with unusual gable ends built in 1879.
Slightly further along the street, and across the road, is 'Ilfracombe', built as a private home in 1879 and now a restaurant.
Return to Brisbane St and head south. At the Vaux St corner is Cowra Public School (1882). Head west along Vaux St. At no.6 is the old stone flour mill built in 1860. It is now a winery and function centre.
Walk around the corner into Lachlan St. Cross Kendal St and turn left into Redfern St. To the right is the Australian Hotel, the town's first, erected in 1846 although it has been completely transformed over the years from the crude bark building that it once was.
Cowra Museums
Cowra Museums is an interactive war, rural and rail museum with over 8000 exhibits including one of the country's largest operating model railways, the Cowra POW Camp exhibition, as well as nostalgic, historical and working war, rail, steam and farm machinery. There are engines to start, machines to operate, sirens to sound, bugles, tanks, jeeps, a canon, anti-tank guns, bayonets and other weapons, dioramas, steam engines, old petrol bowsers, cars and lawnmowers, old magazines and newspapers and many other items. It is located 4 km east of the town centre on Sydney Rd (the Mid Western Highway) and is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6342 2666.
Coleman's Country Corner
Coleman's Country Corner is a country music museum at 49 Mulyan St. It is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6342 1064.
Australia's World Peace Bell
Australia's World Peace Bell, a replica of the original which hangs in the United Nations Building in New York, is located in Civic Square, Darling St (just off Kendal St). It was bestowed upon Cowra due to local efforts to foster peace and international understanding.
The Cowra Italy Friendship Monument
The Cowra Italy Friendship Monument, constructed in 1996, represents Italians who served on the side of the allies in World War II, Italian POWs held in Australia, and Australian and Italian service personnel who died in the war. It is located at the eastern end of Kendal St.
Aboriginal Murals
Also of some interest are the Aboriginal murals on the pylons of the Lachlan River Bridge. This project is easily accessible from the Tourist Information Office as it is only a few hundred metres away.
The Lachlan Valley Railway Society
The Lachlan Valley Railway Society was set up to restore and maintain steam locomotives and rolling stock. The depot/museum is located in Campbell St, near the Brougham St intersection, It is open from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on weekends and steam-train rides operate on the second full weekend of each month and on long weekends from March to November, tel: (02) 6341 1052.
Glenn Morton's and Other Galleries
6 km from the post office, on Darbys Falls Rd, is Glenn Morton's Gallery which is open from 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. every day except Sunday, or by appointment, tel: (02) 6342 3194.
Other galleries in town are Australiana Corner at 1 Kendal St which is open daily; the Caleen Art Collection at the council chambers in Darling St (open Monday to Friday), and the Craft Shop at 106 Kendal St (open daily).
Observatory
Darbys Falls Observatory is open every night (weather permitting) from 7.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. in winter and from 8.30 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. in summer, or by appointment, tel: (02) 6345 1900. Follow Darbys Fall Rd for about 24 km then turn left at the Observatory sign into Mt McDonald Rd, just before Darbys Falls. Follow this road for almost 1 km then turn right into Observatory Rd and drive to the parking area at the end (switch your headlights off as soon as possible). The observatory is up the hill on the left.
Croote Cottage
Not far from Cowra is Croote Cottage. Built by convict labour in 1827, this four-roomed cottage is one of Australia's oldest surviving residences and it is certainly one of the oldest extant buildings west of the Great Dividing Range. It is a reminder of a lifestyle which is long gone. It has been owned and lived in continuously (until recently) by the Dowd family. Edna Dowd, who now lives in a more modern dwelling next door, still does traditional tea and scones for visitors who can experience, in a marvellously unpretentious way, the simplicity of 19th-century rural living with all its suffering and small pleasures. It is sadly no longer open to the public.
Wyangala Waters State Recreation Area
43 km south-east of Cowra along Darbys Falls Rd is Wyangala Waters State Recreation Area which covers over 2000 ha, making it the third-largest state recreation area in NSW. The lake has a storage capacity of over one million megalitres and a surface area 2.5 times that of Sydney Harbour. It is surrounded by timbered slopes with granite outcrops. The dam wall is 1.5 km in length.
There are camping sites, a caravan park with on-site vans, cabins, bungalows and cottages, walking trails through the surrounding bushland, a kiosk/general store, canoes, paddleboats and a houseboat for hire, four boat ramps, picnic areas, shelter sheds, fireplaces, toilets, an amenities block, a country club at nearby Wyangala village and a 9-hole golf course nearby. Other possibilities include swimming, sailing, waterskiing, power-boating, tobogganing, and parasailing. Paintball is available by booking only. The office is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6345 0877.
Idle Water Slides have two slides, swimming pools and an 18-hole mini-golf. They are open on weekends and in school holidays from October to the Easter, tel: (02) 6345 0808.
The dam is also renowned for its trout fishing (brown and rainbow) and is also supplied with catfish, Murray cod, bream, yellowbelly and silver perch.
Conimbla National Park
Conimbla National Park represents a rare surviving example of the Central Western Slopes' natural vegetation. It consists of open woodlands, low open forests and dry heaths inhabited by grey kangaroos, swamp wallaby, shrub birds and parrots.
Head west of Cowra along the Mid Western Highway for about 9 km. 2 km beyond the turnoff into the Lachlan Valley Way, turn right into Barryrenie Rd. After 5 km there is a turnoff on the left into a parking and picnic-camping area. The Wallaby Walking Track (one hour return) starts here. It concludes at another picnic-camping area further west along the Barryrenie Rd.
17 km along Barryrenie Rd (9 km unsealed) is a sign indicating another picnic-camping area. The Ironbark Walking Track (90 minutes return) starts 100 m along this trail. It offers views east towards Cowra and a fine perspective over the Cherry Creek Gully. The sedimentary nature of the Conimbla Range is evident in the red lines of the cliff faces.
If you wish to explore the western side of the park, proceed west of Cowra along the Mid Western Highway for 30 km and turn right into Bumbaldry Rd. For further information ring (02) 6851 4429.
Wineries
There are a large number of vineyards and wineries in the Cowra area and local wines can be tasted at four local outlets. The Mill Winery and Function Centre is located in one of the town's oldest buildings (1860) at 6 Vaux St and is open from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily, tel: (02) 6341 4141.
The Quarry Restaurant and Cellars are located 4 km south of Cowra on the Boorowa Rd (the Lachlan Valley Way). The cellars offer wines from Cowra Estate, Hungerford Hill, Arrowfield Cowra Wines and Richmond Grove. The restaurant also utilises local produce in its modern cuisine, tel: (02) 6342 3650. It is open from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.
Chiverton, west of town on the Mid Western Highway, specialised in chardonnay, semillon and shiraz and is open by appointment only, tel: (02) 6342 9270.
Hermes Morrison Wines is open weekends and public holidays from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. or by appointment, tel: (02) 6345 0153. Head north-east along the Mid Western Highway for 28 km then turn right at the signpost into Nargong Rd and follow the signs.
Horseriding
Horseriding in the area is offered by arrangement at Glenbrook (tel: 02 6342 3847).
Tourist Information
Cowra Visitor Information Centre
Olympic Park Mid Western Hwy
Cowra NSW 2794
Telephone: (02) 6342 4333
Facsimile: (02) 6342 4563
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