Nepal Peace Pagoda
Encyclopedia
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, is located at the transformed Brisbane World Expo '88 site, South Bank Parklands. It is one of the most significant heritage items in Brisbane from the hosting of the Expo.
Origins
In 1986, the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
International Year of Peace, the Kingdom of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
agreed to participate in World Expo '88, and the Association to Preserve Asian Culture was commissioned to create, operate for the Expo, and find a new home for the Pagoda at the Expo's conclusion.
Construction
Immediately, 80 tonnes of indigenous Nepalese timber were sourced from the TeraiTerai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
jungle forest of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, carted across to the capital Kathmandu where 160 Nepalese families worked for two years at crafting its diverse elements. These were then shipped to Australia in two 40-foot containers and one 20-foot container, where they were assembled at the Expo site by a handful of Australian workers under Nepalese supervision. The final assembly for World Expo '88 only took a few days.
During the Expo
Three-levelled, with a beautiful tea house on the second level, and one of the only hand-crafted Pavilions, the Pagoda quickly became one of the most visited and photographed Pavilions at the Expo. Towards the end of the Expo a group of persons called Friends of the Pagoda established a petition to keep the Pagoda in Brisbane after the conclusion of the Expo, with some 70,000 signatories.Sir Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
, the first person to ascent Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, was VIP Guest to the Pagoda during the Expo on 8 August 1988.
Artistic and Religious Heritage
The Pagoda is one of only three Nepal Peace Pagodas outside of Nepal, the other two being in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, and is a close copy of Pashupatinath Temple
Pashupatinath temple
Pashupatinath Temple is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River in the eastern part of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The temple served as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath, Nepal is a secular country...
in Kathmandu, with significant Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Buddhist iconography representing the different Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
s of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, buddhas in different states of meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, or mudras, the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism
Buddhist symbolism
Buddhist symbolism is the use of Buddhist art to represent certain aspects of dhamma, which began in the 4th century BCE. Anthropomorphic symbolism appeared from around the 1st century CE with the arts of Mathura and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, and were combined with the previous symbols...
, a sacred statue of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist deity of compassion, as well as a Peace Bell, two smaller side Pavilions, a Buddhist stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
, and a Peace Post, with the calling to World Peace in four languages Japanese, French, Spanish and English. Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
prayer chants also feature inscribed on the roof eaves of the two side Pavilions, as well as the inscription for om
Om
Om is a sacred syllable of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.OM and similar may also refer to:-Music:* Om , a stoner metal band* Om , a 1965 album* OM , a 2006 album* Om...
above the central door.
Whilst not used as a traditional Buddhist or Hindu centre, it is occasionally used for weddings, private functions, book launches and company events, and many visitors can be seen using the Pagoda's internal first level Church pews for personal meditation. South Bank Corporation manages the Pagoda on behalf of the Parklands and the City of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
After the Expo
After the Expo, it was work of Friends of the Pagoda, with Brisbane City Council Councillor David HinchliffeDavid Hinchliffe
David Martin Hinchliffe was Labour Member of Parliament for Wakefield from 1987 to 2005 when he stood down and was replaced by Mary Creagh.-Early life:...
as head, to liaise between government and private donations to keep the Pagoda in Brisbane, and the campaign was a success, largely also due to the last minute concluding successful donation by retirees Mr & Mrs Frank & Myra Pitt. Various ideas were put forward as to where to host the Pagoda, including the Queensland Art Gallery
Queensland Art Gallery
The Queensland Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, and is located nearest to Brisbane River at South Bank...
, and Brisbane City Botanic Gardens
Brisbane City Botanic Gardens
The City Botanic Gardens is located on a point known as Gardens Point on the Brisbane River adjacent to the central business district of the city of Brisbane...
, with South Bank Parklands the final successful resting place for the Pagoda, at its new riverfront location, where it became part of the parklands opening in June 1992.
Since that time, the Pagoda has been a significant part of one's visit to South Bank, where it still welcomes visitors from all over the world much as it did during World Expo '88.
2008 20th Anniversary of World Expo '88
As part of the 20th Anniversary celebrations of World Expo '88, Foundation Expo '88 and the newly re-launched The Friends of the Pagoda Association hosted a retrospective World Expo '88 photograph exhibition and memorabilia display at the Pagoda, of which the memorabilia display still is shown to this day. The Queensland Branch of the Nepal Australia Friendship Association (NAFA) also held Nepal-themed poster, pamphlet and craftwork displays at the Pagoda on the World Expo '88 20th Anniversary Community Day, Saturday 10 May 2008.Further reading
- A 20-sheet subject-by-subject information pack on the Brisbane Nepal Peace Pagoda can be found at The Friends of the Pagoda Association pages at Foundation Expo '88, http://www.foundationexpo88.org/friendsofthepagoda/informationsheetpack.zip.
- If one is visiting the Pagoda, a 10-question Activity Sheet can guide your visit. Download the activity sheet here, at http://www.foundationexpo88.org/friendsofthepagoda/activitysheets.pdf.