Meander Valley possibly set for Japanese-style garden

Councillor John Temple suggested the current style of the footbridge already had an oriental resemblance.

"I've spent some time in Japan and the area the bridge is located reminds me of it very much, particularly because of the cherry blossom trees there," he said.

"I think having a small Japanese-style garden on either side of the bridge might add another layer of interest in that area along the river, and could encourage more tourists to visit Deloraine."

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Cr Temple said - if his idea came to fruition - it should be named the Shinzo Abe Garden, in honour of Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister who was assassinated earlier this month.

"I met him [Shinzo Abe] 30 years ago on a study tour in Tokyo, and it was a shock for me to see how his life tragically ended," he said.

"He was a very impressive man and I think naming the garden after him would be a great way to honour his memory and achievements."

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This is not the first time Cr Temple has proposed naming a council-owned asset after a foreign leader.

In 2016 he raised an idea to rename the Westbury Cricket Ground after then US president-elect Donald Trump.

The garden would also not be the first of its kind in Tasmania, as Hobart has one designed by Kanjiro Harada, a Japanese Gardena landscape architect from Yaizu, Japan - Hobart's sister city.

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Meander Valley mayor Wayne Johnson said if the council's planning authority eventually approved the garden, their works manager would be tasked with finding staff experienced in maintaining similar gardens.

"I'm happy for us to consider it, but it has to make sense financially," he said.

Australia-Japan Society of Tasmania President Steven J Phipps said for more than 30 years, Deloraine had been a centre for Japanese culture in Tasmania.

"This history began in 1991 when Mr Riichiro Shiratori, President of Shiratori Flour Mills, made a donation of cherry trees to the Deloraine district in recognition of the buckwheat grown in the area, which he imports to Japan and uses to make soba noodles," he said.

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"It has become a tradition for members of the Japanese community in Tasmania to gather beneath the cherry blossoms each year and enjoy a traditional picnic."

Mr Phipps said the addition of a Japanese-style garden could only enhance the role of Deloraine as a place for Tasmanians to celebrate Japanese culture.

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