Ipswich City CouncilNerima Gardens
Japanese Gardens of Ipswich. A place of peace and tranquillity, a place to meet nature and calm the spirit.
Journey Through Nerima GardensDesign philosophyThe first stage of Nerima Gardens was opened on 17 May 2001 by former Ipswich Mayor John Nugent and Mayor Saburo Iwanami of Nerima to commemorate the Sister City Relationship between Ipswich City and Nerima City, Japan. Nerima Gardens has been designed in consultation with Ipswich City's sister city Nerima. The philosophy of the garden is to create a place of peace and tranquillity, a place to meet nature and calm the spirit. The garden is designed to take advantage of the existing vegetation and landform of Queens Park in such a way that the visitor is taken on a journey of discovery, where the perspective of the garden changes and lightens the heart. Nerima Gardens seeks to capture the elements of a Japanese style garden whilst retaining a distinctly Ipswich identity through the use of local plants including rare and endangered species. The garden is a picture of the local environment and how Ipswich fits within South East Queensland. The first stage of the garden portrays the ocean with latter stages to be added that will portray more closely the character of the Ipswich region, its rivers, mountainous peaks and vegetation. Design Elements
Construction of the GardensThe first stage of the garden has been constructed over a 12 month period utilising Ipswich City Council staff and a variety of employment initiatives. The first element to be constructed was the Sea, its island and rockwork. The Entry Gate, Bridges and pathways were then added before finally the planting. No significant vegetation was removed during the construction of the garden and it has been designed to allow access by wheel chairs. The garden will be a dynamic landscape and will change with the seasons. As a garden of this nature is considered young at 500 years we do not presume that it will reach its full potential for many years to come, however as the two cities of Ipswich and Nerima grow so to will this garden. Significance of the Sister City Relationship Between Ipswich and NerimaIn October 1988 a delegation led by the then Nerima Deputy Mayor Mitsuishi visited Australia seeking a Sister City. After visiting three Australian cities, Ipswich was selected as the most suitable owing to the similarities between the two cities. Like Ipswich, Nerima is located adjacent to a capital City, namely Tokyo. Nerima is 48.17 square kilometres and one of twenty-three Wards of Tokyo. Other similarities are the proximity to an international airport and both Ipswich and Nerima are in the same time zone. After agreement by both parties, the Sister City relationship was formalised on 15 October 1994. The relationship involves cultural activities such as student exchanges, book exchanges and children's art exchange programs. Business exchange is also an outcome of the relationship with local products such as clay pavers and emu meat now being exported to Nerima and resulting in economic benefits to Ipswich. Tourism is another main beneficiary of the relationship as numerous Nerima residents have visited Ipswich to see their sister City. The Ipswich Rotary Club has a Sister Club relationship with Tokyo Nerima West Rotary Club which was formalised in February 1992 prior to the Sister City relationship. The Sister City relationship aims to forge goodwill between Cities of different countries, cultures and experiences. Nerima Gardens celebrates this relationship and helps to share cultural knowledge for the benefit of all. A Guide to Nerima Gardens
Ipswich City Council would like to thank the following sponsors:
Last Updated 13 May 2009 |
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