Cherry Blossom Festival

From The Orange Wiki

One of the biggest regular celebrations in Orange was the Cherry Blossom Festival. Traditionally held on the October long weekend the concept was initially proposed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1939 however with the outbreak of World War II it was 1948 before it was a fixture on the events calendar. During the 1951 Festival the Consul General of the Netherlands presented a specially crafted crown for the Cherry Blossom Queen. While made in Australia it was an exact replica of the crown used in Holland by the House of Orange, after whom Orange NSW is named. A crowd of 10,000 is estimated to have watched the procession that year.

From the outset the Cherry Blossom Festival allocated funds towards a range of civic projects including the establishment of an Olympic Swimming Pool and the Gnoo Blas Race Circuit. It continued to grow in popularity attracting tourists from outside the district. In 1955 the railways department sent two special trains to Orange.

After a break in 1960 a rejuvenated Cherry Blossom Festival was held again in continuing for another 10 years until in 1971 a public meeting was called to discuss future changes to the format. Mayor Ronald Thomas said the public was weary of the festival format and the time had arrived for a review. The festival was disbanded April 1972.

• Notes for a history of Orange compiled by John Miller (1995-1997). Unpublished.

• Miller, J., Holmes, D., and Honey, A. (2001) Orange a vision splendid. Orange City Council, Orange NSW.