Peace offering
It’s the ultimate cross-cultural marriage. Immaculately manicured hedges, koi-filled lakes, blossoming cherry trees and even a bonshō(temple) bell place the visitor firmly in a traditional kaiyū shiki(Japanese strolling) garden. Then the Aussie accent cuts across with towering eucalypts framing the tranquil five-hectare space, while in the nearby reserve on Bellevue Hill, kangaroos, wallabies and emus are common sights.
Even harder to understand is how such a serene landscape has is its roots in one of Australia’s bloodiest wartime events. In the early hours of a clear, moonlit night in August 1944, the largest prisoner-of-war (POW) breakout in
