Cowra Commemorates 78th Cowra Breakout Anniversary

Cowra commemorated the 78th anniversary of the Cowra Breakout last Friday, with the Cowra Breakout Association hosting a number of events on the day to mark the occasion.

The day began with a wreath laying ceremony at the POW Camp and Italian Memorial, which was attended by Member For Riverina Michael McCormack. This was followed by the official wreath laying ceremony at the Australian and Japanese War Cemeteries, which also featured a Buddhist ceremony.

A special and unique ceremony was held on Cherry Tree Avenue, at the tree dedicated to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in memory of him after his tragic assassination last month. A VIP morning tea at the Cowra Japanese Garden completed the day’s formalities.

Cowra Breakout Association’s Harvey Nicholson spoke about the history of the Cowra POW Camp at the first wreath laying ceremony.

He also paid tribute to Bruno Dell’Amico, and Italian POW in Cowra, who built the electrical building at the POW site, revealing the Breakout Association successfully made contact with descendants of his host family in Cowra in 2016.

IMAGE: Member For Riverina Michael McCormack lays a wreath last Friday.

IMAGE: All of the wreaths laid at the cairn at the Cowra POW Camp last Friday.

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