Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -a quest for peace
POST SCRIPT It was with sadness that we reported Mr Matsushima's passing in 2014. He was a wonderful ambassador for Hiroshima and will be sadly missed. Please enjoy his memories and follow his call for "No More Hiroshimas"
We are pleased to announce that during August 2013 Australian Red Cross in partnership with The Hiroshima Peace and Culture Foundation and Intercultural Consulting group will stage a thought inspiring exhibition titled " Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki-a quest for peace"
The exhibition will include among other things a unique 35 info panel display from the Hiroshima Peace Park Museum portraying the tragic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Each of the panels tell part of the story of the horrors experienced when the atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 . The exhibition highlights the ongoing quest for Peace in today's world which is currently free of these atomic horrors but still living in a shadow.
We are also excited to be able to speak with a Hiroshima survivor and hear her experiences on that dreadful day in August 1945.
The exhibition program will include an official welcome ceremony, a number of presentations by a Hiroshima survivor and an opportunity where visitors will be able to make paper cranes and send messages of Peace to Hiroshima.
The paper cranes will be taken and presented in Hiroshima at the Sadako memorial on Hiroshima Day August 6th 2014.
A number of audio visual presentations along with video footage of Hiroshima before and after the bombing will also be screened during the exhibition.
A special focus of the Exhibition will be the presentation of personal effects of MR DAN CRANE. This Australian soldier was stationed in Kure and Hiroshima city as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces ( BCOF) just after the explosion of the atomic bomb. His extensive collection of photos and other items provide a personal glimpse in to the world of the Commonwealth soldiers . They were among the first outsiders to enter Hiroshima and the surrounding areas soon after the bomb.
The BCOF story is a important part of the Hiroshima story and the thousands of soldiers who took part in its rebuilding and have long been forgotten for their inspring role at this time. The friendships and links that developed have celebrated long histories and this part of the exhibition provides a truly thought provoking and unique AUSTRALIAN STORY.
The inspiring and heart breaking story of survivor Keijiro Matsushima and his memories of that day and long after are in contrast to the story of the Aussie soldier , DAN CRANE arriving in a foreign land unaware of what to expect. Through the horrors and devastation of what was Hiroshima in1945,bridges were built between these two cultures. The legacy lives on today.
The Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki exhibition will be a truly inspiring opportunity to listen,learn and move forward spreading a message of global Peace and goodwill for the future.
Join us on this Journey, visit the exhibition and walk with us through these Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as we search for meaning and future directions for our world, a world searching for true Peace.
Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -Quest for Peace The High Court of Australia- Parkes Place Parkes ACT