Give peace a chance – libraries mark 80 years since atomic bombings

Image: Wollongong City Libraries staff practice folding origami cranes

A thousand paper cranes will soon make their way across the Pacific, as people gather at their local library to fold the colourful creations in the name of peace.

Wollongong City Libraries is inviting the community to join in origami crane folding, with special sessions for young people held during the school holidays. These events are part of a program of talks and activities marking 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Origami cranes have long symbolised peace and hope, inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki. Just two years old when US Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on her hometown of Hiroshima, Sadako later developed leukaemia. Believing in the Japanese legend that folding 1,000 paper cranes would grant her wish, she folded cranes from her hospital bed until her death at age 12.

Each year, around 10 million handmade paper cranes are sent from around the world to the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, honouring the many children who died and standing as a monument to nuclear disarmament and world peace. This year, at least 1,000 of them will be from young people visiting Wollongong’s libraries.

Acting Wollongong City Libraries Manager Lindsay Carapella said that libraries are always looking for ways to respond to community needs by providing engaging and accessible programs.

“Young people are surrounded by images and videos of conflict across the globe, and this can be confusing and unsettling as they learn about the world and their place in it,” she said.

“Providing opportunities for young people in our community to gather and participate in this global act of peace is a simple but practical way to help them build connections and feel more empowered.”

Community members are also invited to drop in and explore the Peace Movement Illawarra Exhibition at Wollongong Library, on display until 30 August. This exhibition documents the region’s long-standing history of peace activism through decades of photographs along with oral histories from local advocates including Dr Margarett Perrott, Sharon Callaghan and Nick Southall.

The exhibition features memorabilia including a Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded in 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, on loan from Wollongong local and ICAN Australia Director, Gem Romuld.

Additionally, Wollongong Library will host a talk on the history of the city’s peace and anti-nuclear movement with Alexander Brown on Monday 28 July.

Origami crane stations will be available at all libraries between 26 July - 6 August, and all community members are invited to contribute.

For more information, visit the Wollongong City Libraries website or call (02) 4227 7414. 

Photos from the Peace Movement Illawarra Exhibition can be accessed online at Illawarra Stories. Or click here for oral histories.

Event date and times