The Whakatāne District Sister Cities Association has two Sister City relationships, one with Kamagaya in Japan and the other with Warwick in Australia. It also has a friendship agreement with Shibukawa City in Japan.
The Association meets on a six-weekly basis and holds its Annual General Meeting in September of each year. Members of the public are welcome to attend and contribute to the meetings.
The dates of the meetings are listed in the Whakatāne District Council's monthly meeting schedule.
Each year the Committee offers a Y12 or Y13 student a scholarship of $1,500 to spend time in Kamagaya and possibly Shibukawa to learn more about the Japanese Language and culture. Unfortunately due to Covid 19 restrictions, the exchange has not been able to proceed. The scholarship will be re-established once it is safe to travel again. Applicants will be expected to provide written statements on how Japan features in their future and attend a meeting with the Committee as part of the selection process.
Kamagaya
An agreement between the Whakatāne District Sister Cities Association and Kamagaya City Hall was signed on November 16, 1997. Exchanges between citizens of Whakatāne and Kamagaya are encouraged, especially in the education and cultural sectors.
Mission Statement: "To encourage and promote international exchange through development and maintenance of Sister City Links."
Kamagaya is situated one hour by train from Tokyo in the Chiba Prefecture. It is classed as a dormitory suburb of Tokyo, where most of the residents work. It has a population of 109,941 (as at December 2020) and covers a total area of 21.11 square kilometres.
A number of projects have been undertaken, including the Japanese Garden situated at the river end of McGarvey Road in Whakatāne. Read more about these unique gardens (PDF, 513 KB).
A list of Objectives for the Sister Cities Association is also available: Sister Cities Objectives (PDF, 110 KB)
The Kamagaya International Friendship Association is a group of citizens that assists visitors to their community. The group has been a very active partner in the Whakatāne/Kamagaya Sister City relationship.
Find out more about Kamagaya »
Shibukawa City
In 2006, Kita Tachibana merged with five surrounding areas to become part of Shibukawa City. Shibukawa City is located within the Gumna Prefecture of Japan with a population of around 76,000. It is surrounded by Mount Akagi in the east, Mount Komochi in the north, Mount Hasruna in the west and the Kanto Plains in the south. Shibukawa City has a total area of 240.42 square kilometres.
A student group from Shibukawa has been visiting Whakatāne High School for a number of years. As a result of this, a formal friendship agreement was signed between the districts at Shibukawa City Hall in November 2017 when a Mayoral Group from Whakatāne visited Japan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the relationship with Kamagaya. A cultural group from Whakatāne High School accompanied the Mayor and were well received by Shibukawa with a number of cross-culture opportunities taking place for students to learn about each other's cultures.
Find out more about Shibukawa »
Warwick
Located in the heart of Queensland’s rich Darling Downs, Warwick is renowned for producing high-quality agricultural produce for its annual, monthlong Rose and Rodeo festival.
Warwick is the oldest centre of the Darling Downs and has many historic associations with the early settlement and development of Queensland. It has a district population of 32,600 and is known as the Shire of Warwick.
This Sister City relationship has not been active for a number of years.