WHITE doves and harmonious tree-plantings were the order of the day as the City of Cockburn marked Hiroshima Day for the 34th consecutive year.
Consul-General of Japan in Perth Toru Suzuki, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Tilman Ruff and school students were among those celebrating harmony and peace at Radonich Park in Beeliar on Tuesday.
This year’s ceremony began with a symbolic release of white doves by Cockburn mayor Logan Howlett and Mr Suzuki, before they joined school students to plant 20 Sheoak and Marri trees to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the end of World War II.
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READ NOWStudents were treated to a reading of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, learned how to make origami peace cranes and listened to a talk by Professor Ruff, whose work with International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) helped the organisation receive the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.
Also in attendance was former Cockburn councillor Nola Waters, who with former Cockburn Mayor Don Miguel, was the driving force for the 1986 council decision to annually commemorate Hiroshima Day.
Mayor Howlett said hundreds of trees planted across the City at each Hiroshima Day over the past 34 years continued to flourish.
“They symbolise the strength of our friendship with Japan and its people and reflect the nature of our growing relationship as we reach out in terms of trade, education, tourism and cultural exchange,” he said.