The Rotary Club of Osborne Park has installed two Peace Poles, one at South Padbury Primary School and one at Majella Catholic Primary School. Promotion of world understanding and peace is one of the objectives of Rotary International hence why Rotary clubs love to support the peace pole movement.
Peace Poles serve as monuments dedicated to peace, carrying the message in multiple languages to reflect the diversity of humanity. They act as reminders for individuals and communities to cultivate peace in their thoughts, words, and actions. The project aims to uplift human consciousness and foster a sense of global unity, transcending race, religion, and creed.
Majella is a Catholic primary school located in Balga catering to students with a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds. It offers an Intensive English Centre from Year 1 through to Year 6, to provide quality, targeted English instruction to new arrivals into Australia. Its Peace Pole carries the message in English, Burmese, Swahili and Arabic.
President Mike together with Ray, Lou, Greg and Anne attended the unveiling of the peace pole at Majella Catholic Primary School. The ceremony was hosted by the school Principal, David Barnes, who was accompanied by a group of schoolchildren.
South Padbury Primary School is an independent public school located in the northern corridor one suburb from the beach. Member Zoe, who previously taught there, introduced us to the school. Its Peace Pole carries the message in English, Cantonese, Indonesian and Noongar.
The Peace Pole was unveiled at a ceremony held on Wednesday 18 March. Several members of the school addressed the group and others placed flowers at the foot of the pole. President Mike Clarke explained to the gathered students what the pole represented in an excellent talk and Principal Cass Disisto also addressed the group.
The Peace Pole Project was created in response to the horrific loss of life and destruction that ensued during World War 2, with the napalm bombing of several cities on Japan and culmination of the war with the dropping of two atomic bombs. In Tokyo, the firebombing killed 100,000 people in one night. The atomic bombs killed 120,000 people immediately, and a similar amount in the following days. Today’s atomic weapons are over 1000 times as powerful as those initial ones, and there are 12,421 nuclear warheads currently in existence.
The Peace Pole Project was started in 1955 in Japan by Masahisa Goi (1916 – 1980). He was deeply affected by the destruction his country suffered in WW2 and the atomic bombs which fell on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and dedicated his life to spreading the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth”.
Masahisa Goi encouraged creative ways in order to carry the message to public view. In 1976, the idea of placing the Peace Message and Prayer on poles began to gain popularity. This was the first impulse which led to the beginnings of the Peace Pole Project. The first Peace Poles outside of Japan began to appear in towns and cities around the world in the early 1980's. It is estimated that there are now over 200,000 Peace Poles in the world on every continent which have been planted over many decades. In Australia, there are over 600, most of these have been sponsored by Rotary Clubs.
The Peace Pole project is not a Rotary project but has been adopted by Rotary International as Peace and Conflict Resolution is one of its seven areas of focus. The Club is keen to install further Peace Poles to promote peace throughout our society and the world.