Matsuura
Sister City Update
Following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Mackay Regional Council has received enquiries from the community regarding our sister city, Matsuura. We have been in touch with staff at Matsuura City, who confirmed that Matsuura was not affected by the earthquake and as Matsuura is on the west coast of Japan and far enough away from the area, they were not affected by the tsunami. However, they have been busy doing what they can to help people in the areas which were hit.
Three staff from the Matsuura City Council fire fighting section and two staff from their waterworks section have gone to the disaster area and have taken the city’s water supply cart. They will find out more what the disaster area needs and what else Matsuura can do to assist.
Mayor Col Meng has sent a letter to the Mayor of Matsuura, expressing profound sorrow at the tragic loss of life and devastation in Japan and to let them know that we are thinking of them at this time. We have asked that our thoughts are passed on to the Matsuura Sister City Friendship Association and the people of Matsuura. Matsuura City have thanked us for our messages and would like to let the people of our region know that they appreciate our care and concern at this time.
The Mackay-Matsuura sister city relationship was formed in 1989. This is a very active relationship with annual exchanges between students, and biennial citizen visits. More than 240 students from Matsuura have visited Mackay since the relationship commenced.
The relationship is a cultural one but was mainly founded on the common interest in coal - with ships coming from Matsuura to our region in the early days of the relationship.
Matsuura is a coastal city located on Japan’s second largest island Kyushu in the Nagasaki Prefecture and has a population of around 27,000. The main industries in Matsuura are electricity production and fishing and coal from the Bowen Basin is exported to Matsuura, and processed at the local power plant.
Over the 22 years of the relationship a warm and ever-growing bond has been developed between citizens of our regions.
Matsuura facts and figures
Population: Approximately 27,000.
Location: In the Nagasaki prefecture on the Japanese island of Kyushu.
Area: 130.28 km2
Industries: Matsuura has one of Japan’s largest coal-fired power stations, an international trade port, a successful agriculture industry and a huge local fish market.
Religion: Buddhism and Shinto
City's flower: Camelia
The City of Matsuura amalgamated with the neighbouring towns of Fukushima and Takashima on 1 January 2006.
Sister City Advisory Committee
In 2004, the Mackay-Matsuura Sister City Advisory Committee was formed with the purpose of encouraging the Mackay community to become involved in sister city activities and to raise awareness of the Mackay-Matsuura sister city relationship. The committee is made up of local community and council representatives.
Matsuura student visits
Every year Matsuura City sends a group of students accompanied by two or three chaperones to Mackay for approximately eight days. Mackay Regional Council arranges home-hosts and activities for the students whilst they are here.
Activities usually consist of time at local schools, visits to locals beaches and places of interest, a bush dance and art/craft workshops. Free time is allowed for the students to experience Australian family life with the host families.
The purpose of the visit is to strengthen our cities' ties and expose Mackay families and Japanese students with each other's cultures.
The students are aged between 13 and 14 years and council seeks host families each year. Family members over the age of 18 years must be holders of a Blue Card.
Mackay-Matsuura Scholarship Program
This program provides students in years 10,11 and 12 with a $1000 scholarship to be used towards the cost of travel on a two week student group visit to Japan. A highlight of the trip is a home-stay in Matsuura for approximately 7 days. The students are accompanied by two adult chaperones.
Applications for the scholarship program open in September each year and to apply students need to write an essay (approximately 500 words) stating why they would like to visit Matsuura. Selection is by interview and students should be currently studying Japanese at locals high schools and be in years 10,11 or 12 at the time of travel in order to be eligible to apply. Regular meetings are held with the group in the lead up to the trip and students write a report for Council on their return, detailing their experiences.
Some of the benefits to participants in the program are:
Citizen visits
Every two years a group of citizens from Matsuura visits Mackay for around three to four days. The citizens visit local attractions and have the opportunity of meeting up with old friends and makng new acquaintances in the community.
On the alternating years, a group of residents from the Mackay region visits Matsuura. The citizens usually spend around three to four days in Matsuura and have an option to extend their visit in Japan.
Sister Cities Mackay - a newly formed community committee
Following a suggestion by the Mackay Regional Council Mackay Matsuura Sister City Advisory Committee, a new community committee has been formed. The aim of forming this committee was to provide a forum for discussion and suggestions for itineraries for student and adult tour groups from Matsuura. In particular planning of informal welcome functions by the community and to increase awareness of the sister city relationship in the community. A good response was received and meetings have commenced, with the President of the new committee becoming a member of the formal council advisory committee to create a link between the two groups. The new committee has set up a facebook page, to aid communication between Mackay and Matsuura - so that people can share photos and keep in touch. The page is called Sister Cities Mackay.