Japanese War Cemetery, Cowra

Situated in a peaceful setting of leafy trees and manicured lawns, Japanese War Cemetery contains the graves of Japanese POWs who died in a failed mass breakout from a local internment camp. When the breakout took place in August of 1944, nearly half of the camp’s prisoners died, along with four Australian soldiers. The cemetery, officially ceded to Japan in 1963, also holds the bodies of Japanese soldiers who died during the infamous 1942 bombings of Darwin. Drop by the Cowra Visitor Center before visiting the cemetery to see an informative 10-minute presentation about the POW breakout. The center can also provide you with a map of an educational route that stops at the cemetery, the old POW camp, and the city’s famous Japanese Gardens. Using our international travel planner, Cowra attractions like Japanese War Cemetery can form part of a personalized travel itinerary.