Peace Poles Opening Ceremony
The Rotary Peace Poles, Peace Park East Gosford.
A New Place for Rotarians and Locals to reflect on putting words into action.
"May Peace prevail on Earth"
The Rain did not dampen the spirits of the Rotary Club of Gosford City on Sunday 23rd September as they gathered in Peace Park in East Gosford to officially open the Peace Poles. They timed it perfectly with a break in the down pours of rain just as we gathered at 11am.
Peter Clarke - President of the Rotary Club of Gosford City 2022 - 2023, welcomed our dignitaries, the Honourable Dr. Gordon Reid MP, and District Governor Mina Howard.
Peter Clarke talked about the ambitions of Rotary to build conditions for sustainable peace, Past President Paul Jones the origins of Peace Poles
The design of the monument. Dr Gordon Reid talked about the importance of community and symbols like the Peace Poles to bring people together from all walks of life. DG Mina Howard talked about the importance of action when it comes to creating conditions for people to find peace in their place. Rotary is leading the way.
May Peace Prevail on Earth. A Sentiment that starts right here in Gosford Peace Park and travels throughout Australia and the World through Rotary.
After the ceremony, the intended picnic was cancelled with weather threatening. All was not lost with a group heading over to Gosford Hotel for a quality lunch.
We are thinking to make this an annual picnic event. We will keep you posted for October 2023.
Thankyou to everyone who made this a great day for the Rotary Club of Gosford City.
Peter Clarke - President 2022-2023
Building the conditions for sustainable peace
There is no question — we face enormous challenges. If we don’t act now to build the conditions for sustainable peace, these problems will only increase. Rotary International is a membership organisation with clubs throughout the world — seeks to foster peace by funding and implementing thousands of projects and programs that support education, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, disease prevention and treatment, and community development.
With a global network of volunteers who come together to make our communities better, by its very nature, our organisation encourages conversations that bridge cultures. We’re your neighbors — business and community leaders who represent all generations and virtually every ethnicity and culture in the world. When you are dealing with a Rotarian you can be assured they have applied the 4 way test in everything they do.
Is it the Truth, Is it fair to all concerned, Will it build goodwill and better friendships, will it be beneficial to all concerned.
International understanding increases the compassion we feel for each other. That’s why Rotary sends almost 10,000 students on exchanges every year. Our scholarship programs send graduate students to other parts of the globe to act as ambassadors of goodwill. Our international service projects depend on the collaboration of Rotary members from multiple countries, often with very different cultures.
At the Gosford City Rotary Club, we are committed to ‘Building the Conditions for Sustainable Peace’. We are bringing awareness and recognition of this ambition through our Peace Poles Project here in Peace Park, East Gosford. We are taking action through our international project, supporting students in the Philippines. We are taking action through supporting our local community organisations, like Mingaletta Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Corporation, Coast Shelter Homelessness and Domestic Violence Prevention Programs, Pacific Link Housing Tenant Support Programs, Top Blokes Foundation supporting our Young Men, to name a few.
For all of us, Conflict and unrest in the news can seem insurmountable. But often before real conflict and always after conflict comes a resolution and peace, if we, as a local community, as a global community, get to work and become problem solvers, change makers, and opportunity creators, we can be ready to provide resolutions, we can deliver a brighter and more peaceful future for generations to come.
Paul Jones - Past President 2021-2022
It was in 2021 that our club, Gosford City Rotary Club had
the idea of placing Peace Poles in our own community. It
was more than appropriate that we close ‘Peace Park’ for
our contribution.
Being located within the city area, we are fortunate that
this small oasis in a suburban setting, is located adjacent
a busy road which means that the Poles are
always visible.
The design of this installation is inspired by a number
of elements, The circle is a profound transcendent symbol. It represents wholeness, completion, inclusion, life circle, eternity and the universe — we live on a circular planet
.
And so placing the installation is based on a circle.
It is appropriate that there is a path through the circle
which represents our inclusion into something greater
as we pass through it.
The use of sandstone blocks is a nod to our local area,
where the use of local sandstone has long been used
in construction, and is representative of long lasting
connection to the earth.
A Peace Pole has become an internationally recognised
symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human
family, standing vigil in silent prayer for the peace on
earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message “May Peace
Prevail on Earth” in different languages on each
of its sides.
The Peach Pole project was started in Japan by
Masahisa Goi in 1955 and was inspired by the aftermath
of World War II and the bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Since then more than 200,000 have been
placed around the world, in almost 200 countries.
All over the world, Rotary Clubs have been active in the
placement of Peace Poles in various communities.
Last year, 2021, Australian Rotary celebrated its 100th
birthday.
The Rotary Club of Canberra Lake Burley Griffin
started a mission to have other Rotary clubs donate 100
poles to 100 schools to develop a relationship between
the clubs and the schools, and send a message of peace
to all staff and students.
Finally, the Poles.
When thinking about what languages we would place on
our poles, we started with the following priorities:
- We would recognise local indigenous languages
- We would identify the most commonly spoken
languages in our community
- We would note our moments in time to send a message of peace to the nations of two countries
- in a major conflict at the time of our dedication.
We were diligent in trying to get our interpretations
correct, and hope that those who read these poles
acknowledge the thought behind them, even if there
maybe some discrepancies.
It is our club’s wish that this installation is a long lasting
symbol of our hope for peace which can be shared by
all in our community.
We are committed to the maintenance of the area and
hope that every now and then, someone will take the
time to enter the circle, sit on the sandstone, work at the
poles that represent our communities within our creator
community and continue to hope that.
May peace prevail on earth.
Mina Howard - District Governor 2022-2023
Today we gather to dedicate these five peace poles planted by the RC of Gosford City. I want to especially acknowledge PP Paul Jones for imagining this project and inspiring the members of Gosford City RC to take on and accomplish this wonderful addition to this Peace Park here in East Gosford.
The RC of Canberra Burly Griffin launched this particular version of planting PPs last year to celebrate 100 years of Rotary in Australia. They wanted to establish 100 poles. To date there are 255 poles in schools and parks around the country and the project is still growing.
Promoting Peace is one of Rotary’s 7 areas of focus. However, it is really the umbrella for the 6 other areas of focus.
When Rotarians work to provide clean water and sanitation, to fight disease, to improve the health of mothers and babies, to provide basic education, to protect the environment and to help grow local economies, we are providing opportunities for those who are being deprived of the ability to live a happy, fulfilling and peaceful life.
Our Rotary Peace centres have trained over 1,300 peace fellows to become effective catalysts for peace through careers in government, education and international organisations.
Our members have negotiated humanitarian ceasefires in areas of conflict to allow polio vaccinators to reach children who are at risk.
We focus on creating communities and convening groups that are connected, inclusive and resilient.
As a humanitarian organization, peace is a cornerstone of our mission. Rotarians believe when people work to create peace in their communities, that change, can have a global effect. Today, over 70 million people are displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations. Half of them are children.
Peace is not simply the absence of war (referred to as negative peace) but the right of all people to have a well-functioning government, a sound business environment, equitable distribution of resources, acceptance of the rights of others, good relations with neighbours, free flow of information, high levels of human capital and low levels of corruption. These are what are known as the 8 pillars of positive peace.
Think about the global situation today in places like Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Africa and within our own borders here in Australia. There is much work to be done.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations says that peace is a noble and necessary pursuit, and the only practical pathway to a better, fairer world for all people.
Instead of fighting each other let’s work to defeat racism, poverty, domestic violence, the climate crisis and inequality within our own community. And remember, peace begins at home.
Thank you, Gosford City Rotary for planting these silent sentinals in this beautiful landscape. They will be a constant reminder to the citizens of Gosford and to those passing through that we all need to strive to find peace within ourselves and help others to do the same.
‘May peace prevail on Earth’.
