Japanese Gardens Cowra

Today we drive south to Cowra 115km away to see the Calleen Art Exhibition. It is a respected and rich regional art award which had 57 finalists from 279 entries. Our SIL was thrilled to be accepted as a finalist so we decided to go down and check it out. I liked most of the artwork which was really varied.

There was a no photos sign which I remarked on. We got chatting to the lady at reception who knows our SIL, daughter and son too. She offered to take our photo in there for private use. Then she chatted for ages until she had to go back to work.

After that little visit we went to the Japanese Gardens. It is 12.5 acres and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Not a blade of grass out of place. The designer Ken Nakajima decided to retain the native Eucalyptus trees as a symbol of Australian soldiers. It is close to an old POW camp where they had Japanese soldiers after WW2. There was a breakout and many were killed. Since that time Cowra and Japan have established close ties. The spirits of the Australian and Japanese soldiers may rest in peace in the gardens (words of the designer). Before wandering (hobbling) around we had lunch at the cafe. It is beautiful and peaceful. James drove. This evening Niña and Spencer (the artist) and kids came in to say hello.

For anyone interested the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023 is the exhibition from 17th Dec to early Feb. It is touring from the national gallery in Canberra.