China drives on the right hand of the road. That makes it different to Australia. Not wrong, just different. And that is OK. Whenever I travel to a new location with my family – whether that be to a neighbouring town or to another country, I ask my children to look for things that are different. They find some fascinating items. Roadside speed advisory signs vary enormously from state to state and country to country – and I never really noticed that until one of my children pointed it out. My children noticed on one particular road that there were no ‘cat’s eyes’ reflectors along the road and, in fact, no markings on the road at all. We thought it seemed strange – until we realised that for half of the year this particular area would be covered in snow. Not a lot of good having markings on the road when there is snow over the top and a snow plough scraping the road! Again this doesn’t make it wrong – just different.
It is with this backdrop that I started thinking about sister-city relationships and the value they offer to cities around the world. The concept of sister-city arrangements has been around for some time. The concept is often referred to as ‘town twinning’ and way back in 1836 Paderborn in German and Le Mans in France had a twinning arrangement. One of the real values of twinning is driven home to me by the very first recorded modern twinning arrangement between Keighley in England and Poix-du-Nord in France who started their twinning in 1920. I have a firm – if somewhat philosophical – belief that sister-city relationships can not only help bring the world closer but help prevent major conflicts. In this example, France and England were both part of the Triple Entente so didn’t fight against each other during World War 1 but if sister-city relationships help to bring cities closer together than it stands to reason that countries will be closer and it will be more difficult to fight against a country where you have an existing relationship.
In Australia we have many cities with international sister-cities. A brief count revealed 211 international sister-cities with various Australian cities. There are relationships with cities in major countries like China, Japan and the US through to tiny countries like Cyprus, Latvia and Macedonia. Then there are the cute. Orange NSW has a relationship with Orange in California. Lismore NSW is a sister-city to Lismore in Ireland. Penrith in Sydney’s west enjoys an ongoing connection with Penrith in the UK.
There are no hard and fast rules with sister-city relationships. The goal is usually to help develop enduring communication networks between the two cities – and by default between the two countries. The helicopter view is that this will allow people to learn about other cultures and let people realise that different does not mean wrong. Ultimately it should reduce conflict among nations and bring people closer together. There are often some financial benefits as well with some economic exchange common between sister-cities.
This topic was front of mind for me at this time as we enjoy some wonderful benefits in the exchanges with our two international sister cities. Minokamo in Japan has been a sister-city since 2 June 1989 and our agreement with Wujiang in China started on 7 June 1995. Not only do we enjoy regular visitations in both directions each year to enhance cultural understanding, but the Shoyoen is a significant reminder of our ongoing relationship with Minokamo. Just last week Mr. Itazu was in our City to help construct the authentic gates to our Shoyoen. The addition of these gates adds to the overall authenticity of our gardens and continues to build the area as a major tourist attraction. The Japanese tea-house has often been described as the most authentic tea-house in Australia – and with good reason. Over ten years ago, Mr. Itazu constructed the tea house in Japan and then disassembled it to be packed into crates and shipped to Dubbo for reconstruction. This present from Minokamo was both unexpected and greatly appreciated and created the impetus for the entire area to develop. Late last year we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Shoyoen with a delegation from Minokamo and Vice-Mayor Ebi described the scene, as he looked across the lake and up to the tea-house, as “more Japanese than Japan”.
We will continue to strengthen ties with our international sister-cities and I encourage all of our residents to learn a little about our chosen cities. I have been lucky enough to visit Wujiang and I hope to travel to Minokamo in the future to keep strengthening official ties between the two cities.
Tell me if there is a City somewhere in the world we should have a sister-city relationship with at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au.
Clr Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of the City of Dubbo