2018 also marks 30 years since the opening of the Cowra Visitor Information Centre and 20 years since the operation of the Cowra Breakout Hologram situated inside the centre. 

A number of past and present Cowra Tourism presidents, board members, committee members, managers and staff were on hand to celebrate the occasion. 

Cowra Mayor, Councillor Bill West said the hard work done by those associated with Cowra Tourism has left a lasting legacy. 

“To say to them, collectively and individually on behalf of the community, thank you, for what you have done and what you have set out, is a legacy of your hard work,” Cr West said. 

“Tourism of course, has a very important role, not only in the community but in the broader context of the importance of Cowra.” 

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MC for the evening, Graham Apthorpe, said the Visitor Centre came about after identifying the need to have a one stop shop for tourists to learn about the story of Cowra.

“Cowra Tourism and Cowra Council knew visitors would turn up at the Cowra Japanese Garden, they would turn up at the War Cemetery, the POW site, in no particular order, so it was very hard to tell the very important story of Cowra’s history and what it meant to the town in one location,” he said. 

“Here however, at the junction of five major roads, there was that opportunity.”

Mr Apthorpe also spoke about his early involvement with the establishment of the hologram and introduced Brian Shirley, who helped create the hologram with his brother Mike, and Roslyn Oades, who played the part of “Claire” in the short production. 

“We believe well over 750,000 people have seen the hologram,” Graham said. 

Ms Oades, who is an actress and voice artist, said it was an honour to celebrate 20 years of the hologram. 

“Thank you so much for having me here tonight, it’s delightful to see the hologram in situ and look at myself as a little ghost 20 years ago,” she said. 

“We didn’t have green screen, the technology we were using is basically, Brian built a black stage in a studio with black objects... it's quite an act of the imagination. 

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“I think it’s really beautiful… and I congratulate Shirley Spectra for the beautiful storytelling and crafting of that work, I think it’s a real testament to their skills that the work lives on.”

Cowra Tourism Corportation Chair, Councillor Ray Walsh, told the audience about the early beginnings of the Cowra Tourism Development Corporation. 

“I’ve noted that in May 1948, a local businessman tried to start a tourism bureau in Cowra, but obviously the idea didn’t go very far,” Cr Walsh said. 

“The first office was bolt hole behind Reid Smith’s shared with the Show Society.”

Cr Walsh highlighted some of the achievements of Cowra Tourism during the past five decades, including the development of the food and wine industry and marketing the surrounding region such as Wyangala. 

Cowra Tourism Manager Belinda Virgo also presented a timeline of the achievements made by Cowra Tourism throughout the years and into the future.