The
Nepal Pavilion and Peace Pagoda National Day : September 19, 1988 Agreement to participate : 10 June 1986 Commissioner General - Mr Gauri Rimal Pavilion : 171 square metres |
The Nepalese representation at the
Exposition was two-fold - the Nepal Pavilion - housing a
colourful photographic exhibition of Nepalese people and
culture, a selection of traditional brass and
wooden ornaments and craftwork, as well as papier-mache umbrellas and
masks that decorated the Pavilion walls and ceilings;
and, perhaps one of the most memorable, and indeed,
lasting structures of Expo - the three-tiered wooden replica
of Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu - known at the Expo
site - and today - as the Nepal Peace
Pagoda.
A unique work of art at the Expo without comparsion - in its architecture and construction - the Nepal Peace Pagoda was entirely handcrafted in Nepal of cut and felled Terai Forest timber from the southern jungles of Nepal - over two years of meticulous work by over 160 Nepalese village families - and was shipped to Brisbane for Expo, where it stood proudly near the Expo's Southern Gates, with its beckoning stairwell lined with its guardian pair of stone lions and elephants, leading to the Pagoda's impressive forecourt, and its two side Pavilions; the Peace Bell at the Pagoda's entrance right; and 2-metre high stone stupa - a square-based (representing the earth) and dome-top (representing the heavens) memorial stone at the Pagoda's exit right - a device celebrating the life of the Buddha and the Noble Eight-Fold Path - traditionally used to house relics of the Buddha. On the inside of the Pagoda visitors could view a statue of the Buddha in meditation, and walking up the internal wooden stairwell, one was greeted with a traditional Nepalese Tea House, resplendent with statue of everlasting compassion - the Lokewesaar Goddess. A finite commission for World Expo '88, at the end of the Expo the Pagoda had to find a new home - and was eagerly sought by several international bidders - including the Japan 1990 International Garden Expo, as well as a dedicated group of believers who joined together to work to keep the Pagoda in Brisbane, and formed the 'Save the Pagoda Committee Fund', which worked as a liaision office for all matters regarding keeping the Pagoda for Brisbane, and, which, luckily, at the last moment, with the successful concluding donation given by a pair of Brisbane philanthropists, saved the Pagoda for the City of Brisbane as a permanent souvenir of the Expo - for now everyone to enjoy and savour. As a result, with the opening of South Bank Parklands in 1992 at the Expo site after the conclusion of Expo, the Pagoda was moved to its new site where it still is today - at the riverside Clem Jones Boulevard northern entrance of the Parklands - where it stands guard facing the Brisbane River, a silent sentinel of Peace - of World Expo '88 - and of a harmonious relationship between the two predominant religious themes of the Nepalese Pagoda - of both Hindu and Buddhist elements - hence, its descriptive title - the Nepal Peace Pagoda. A site of calm reflection, the Nepal Peace Pagoda is one of the only Expo participant-made structures at South Bank - the former Expo site - and now joins with the Expo symbol tower 'Night Companion' (or the Stefan Sky Needle as it is now called - now at Stefan Hairdressing H.Q. in South Brisbane), and the Japanese Pond & Garden, from the Japan Pavilion at Expo - now re-located at Brisbane City's Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens - as one of the most outstanding collections by the City of Brisbane from the hosting of Expo. It is hoped one day that the Pagoda can have a greater role in celebrating its Nepali and World Expo 88 heritage - with the creation of a World Expo 88 Museum at the Pagoda's underutilised Second Level - as well as revitalising the Pagoda's role as a culinary and cultural centre - to include serving of traditional Nepalese teas and sweets at the Pagoda Forecourt 'Pagoda Place', and, use of the forecourt, Pagoda, and its bamboo backdrop as the dramatic venue for a celebration of Australia and Asia in the performing arts. Learn about The Friends of the Pagoda Association and how to become a Member, as well as the World Expo '88 Museum, at http://www.celebrate88.com/friendsofthepagoda/ View the Nepalese Peace Pagoda in
it's new South Bank Parklands location
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