Attractions in Cowra
Japanese Gardens
Looking for attractions in Cowra? Explore the Japanese Gardens.
There are numerous Japanese Gardens throughout the world, however this Garden is more than just a Garden. It is a powerful symbol of good will, encouraging reconciliation and peace.
The Cowra Japanese Garden covers 5 hectares – the largest in the southern hemisphere! It was built here because of Cowra’s special significance to the Japanese. The unique relationship of Cowra and Japan originated on a cold night in August 1944. On that night more than a thousand Japanese prisoners of war broke out of the prison camp.
The 231 Japanese soldiers who died in the escape were buried nearby. Local members of the Returned Serviceman’s League tended their graves. As mutual respect grew over the years between Japan and the citizens of Cowra, the idea of a garden arose. The Garden would be a symbolic representation of the landscape of Japan.
Also available is an open-air tea house, working pottery house and a restaurant open for lunch and dinner.
Australian & Japanese War Cemeteries
These cemeteries contain the graves of Australians who died in service during World War II. Also contained are the Japanese POWs involved in the Cowra Breakout.
There is a 9-minute hologram that recounts the tragic story of the Cowra Breakout in 1944. The hologram is located in the Cowra Visitors Information Centre at the junction of Grenfell, Young and Boorowa Roads.
Cowra Heritage Walk
The highlights of this walk include:
- The Australian Hotel on Redfern Street which was the town’s first hotel – erected in 1846. Although it has been completely transformed over the years from the crude bark building that it once was.
- The Old Stone Flour Mill which was built in 1860 by Patrick and Thomas Walsh. When it opened in 1861 it was the setting for a huge, local ball.
- Ilfracombe, a private residence for Nicholas Challacombe in 1879 and served as a surgery for local doctors for 100 years.
- The Cowra Courthouse, a Federation-style brick building with unusual gable ends built-in 1879.
- The first Protestant church on the Lachlan River – the original St Peter’s Presbyterian Church. Built of brick in 1860, it is situated behind the present church which dates from 1913.
- Garden & Montgomerie Solicitors on the northern side of Kendal Street which dates from 1875.
It is an easy walk around town with all the historic buildings being bounded by four blocks. Two blocks between Lachlan and Fitzroy Streets and two blocks between Vaux and Liverpool Streets.
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Cowra NSW, Australia
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