Published on Wednesday, 16 September 2020 at 5:00:00 PM
Albany is joining an international organisation of over 164 countries to commemorate the horrific Hiroshima atomic bomb blast that took the lives of over 140,000 people 75 years ago.
The 1945 bomb blast left in its path burnt trunks of the slow growing and long-living Ginkgo tree, which is native to China and known as the oldest tree on Earth.
A Ginkgo tree sapling with direct links back to those charred trees from Hiroshima will be planted in the garden opposite the National Anzac Centre next week as part of the worldwide commemoration of those who died in the nuclear blast.
Coordinated by Mayors for Peace, an international organisation of cities dedicated to advocating for peace, the Ginkgo trees project calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realisation of eternal world harmony.
Assisting in the tree planting ceremony are members of the Albany Youth Advisory Council who signify the impact our history has on our future generations and how it shapes their world.
Mayor of Albany Dennis Wellington said Albany’s military history made it an appropriate and significant place to plant a Ginkgo sapling.
“The events of Hiroshima were profound and an example of the brutal impact war has on hundreds of thousands of lives as well as the lives of those around them,” Mayor Wellington said.
“Planting this second-generation Ginkgo tree sapling commemorates the events of 1945, shows our support in the abolition of nuclear weapons and drives us towards a world where combat is a thing of the past.”
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