At last week's meeting, Cowra Rotary club members were joined by members of Victoria Zone A of the Recreational Vehicle Fellowship of Rotarians (RVFR) who were holding their muster in Cowra. As usual the Cowra Bowling Club did an excellent job with the meals for those present.

John Artz ( RVFR Chairman) addressed the meeting as well as Des Graham (Boss Drover). They thanked the Rotary Club of Cowra and the people of Cowra for their hospitality and for making the RVFR members so welcome.

Lawrance Ryan was the speaker for the evening. The title of his talks was "Two camps, one town, one future". The main theme for his talk was how our military history changed Cowra forever. He spoke about how there were two camps which outlived their wartime purpose and become symbols of peace and reconciliation.

Mention Cowra and World War Two and most people immediately think of the Cowra Breakout. However during the second world war Cowra had more than just military establishments, but also boasted: An annex of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory in the converted Showground Pavilion, A CSR Factory producing power alcohol from grain, an Edgells cannery producing canned vegetables for Allied troops operating in the South Pacific and a camp for resettled German Jews located on the Forbes Road.

Lawrance then talked about Cowra's most famous day being the he largest prisoner of war breakout in modern military history. Lawrance then talked about the Cowra Military Training Camp which was established almost a full year before the better known Cowra Prisoner of War Camp. After the war the training camp was converted into a migrant camp, specifically as a family camp. The Cowra Migrant Camp introduced many local residents to people from another culture. At the same time attitudes towards the Japanese began to change. Members of the local RSL Sub-branch took on the task of maintaining the graves of the Japanese POWs who died in the Breakout. The Japanese War Cemetery was in many ways Cowra's finest achievement and Australia's greatest example of reconciliation with a former enemy.

In the early-1970s the Cowra Tourist and Development Corporation wanted to promote the Cowra - Japan relationship without direct reference to World War Two and this resulted in the building a Japanese style strolling garden - the Cowra Japanese Gardens.

Australia's World Peace Bell was awarded to Cowra for the town's commitment to peace and international understanding. The Cowra Peace Precinct was established as an ambitious plan by Cowra Shire Council to include the POW campsite as part of Cowra's premier passive recreation area.

On 1 May 1999, Cowra Shire Council dedicated Europa Park to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Migrant Camp.

In 2003 Rotary after being approached by the Council agreed to support the development of Europa Park as a major local project to celebrate the centenary of Rotary International in 2004/05.

This has been an ongoing project by Rotary. Europa Park is still growing in importance as former migrants and their decedents remember their strong link to Cowra and hence Europa Park is an important reminder of our town's history and multicultural heritage.

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