Cowra Migrant & Military Training Camp
Cowra’s history is marked by stories of the military and migrants from World War II. Between 1940 and 1945 some 80,000 Australian troops received basic training at the Cowra facility. After the war, the camp became home to between 17,000 to 19,000 immigrants who left war-ravaged Europe to make Australia their home.
Whilst the campsite itself is now private land, a memorial has been erected in honour of the migrant families of Cowra in Europa Park, east of Cowra on the Sydney Road. There is also a memorial on Military Parade to mark the location of the Military Camp.
A collection of family stories from former residents of the Cowra Migrant Camp is recorded in ‘Australia, A New Country - A New Life’. Compiled by the Cowra & District Historical Society, the book is available at the Cowra Visitor Information Centre.
Europa Park
Europa Park is a lasting memorial, dedicated to the thousands of migrants who lived in the Cowra Migrant Centre in the late 1940s and mid-1950s. Europa Park is a permanent reminder and place of recognition for the families and descendants of those migrants.
A memorial wall has been built and its surrounds contain personalised pavers for the families wishing to be recognised in the memorial.
If you have a connection with the Cowra Migrant Camp, you are invited to buy a paver and have your name or family name recorded on it. Pavers cost $45 and may be laid in pairs or sets if you would like to keep family groups, friendship groups or nationalities together.
Memorial paver order forms are available at the Cowra Visitor Information Centre and from the Rotary Club of Cowra.