Japanese garden found Dr Adrian Allen receives OAM

As USQ lecturer Dr Adrian Allen was nearing death when a lifelong friend nominated him for one of Australia’s highest honours, for his working in building the Ju Raku En Japanese Gardens.

Dr Adrian Allen and Patricia Allen.

For more than three decades the Ju Raku En Japanese Gardens at the University of Southern Queensland have served as a sanctuary for students to escape the commotion of campus life.

One often finds children giggling among the bamboo thickets or young couples nesting by the lake.

This gift of tranquillity is owed to the late Dr Adrian Allen, who hatched the idea to build the gardens then mustered community support, funding and manpower to see it become a reality.

Today Dr Allen will be honoured for that effort as he is posthumously awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Dr Allen’s wife Patricia said her husband would have shared the glory.

“Adrian was one hell of a fellow and he had big ideas,” she said

“It took 10 years, it was stressful ten years, but it was all worth it.”

John Elliott (left) with one of the instigators of the creation of the Japanese Garden Dr Adrian Allen. John Elliott is the author of a photographic book celebrating the 25th anniversary of Toowoomba's Japanese Garden at USQ, Photo Kevin Farmer

Dr Allen was a senior lecture in geography at USQ and he launched the university’s Asian Studies program.

“He thought it would be a good idea to bring a bit of Asian culture to the area,” Mrs Allen said.

“His first idea was a Nepalese temple but that didn’t work, so he went for gardens”

Over ten years Dr Allen convinced the university and the then-Toowoomba City Council to build the gardens.

He fundraised, mobilised the community groups and helped design the space.

“I might add he had never been to Japan before starting the garden,” Ms Allen said.

The gardens opened in 1989 and Dr Allen stayed on as a senior lecturer until his retirement in 2003.

Alex Raccanello snapped this peaceful shot at the Japanese Gardens in Toowoomba.

“The garden is recognised as the most complex and traditionally designed Japanese Garden in Australia, is a significant tourist attraction, and provides a beautiful setting for many weddings and special events,” a USQ spokeswoman said.

The couple travelled the world and built an equally impressive garden at their Grapetree property.

Sadly, Dr Allen lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in February 2020.

“It as one of our friends from university that nominated Adrian for the OAM,” Mrs Allen said.

“She rang him on his death bed and told him she had nominated him, and I think he was pleased.

“He said this was an award for the community.”