South Australia School Installs Peace Pole to Mark Hiroshima Anniversary, Adelaide, Australia
August 6, 2025
Students at the Adelaide Secondary School of English in South Australia honoured the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima with a powerful ceremony connecting global peace to local action.
On August 6th, 2025, exactly 80 years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Dr Amanda Ruler from the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) delivered a speech to students at Adelaide Secondary School of English (ASSE). The ceremony marked both a sombre remembrance and the installation of a Peace Pole carrying the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in multiple languages.
at Adelaide Secondary School of English.
Dr. Ruler drew powerful connections between the Hiroshima tragedy and South Australia’s own nuclear history, reminding students that between 1956-1963, British forces detonated seven atomic bombs at Maralinga in the Great Victoria Desert. Like the children of Hiroshima, Aboriginal Maralinga Tjarutja people were displaced from their sacred lands, which still bear radioactive scars today.
Speaking directly to students of Class 36 in this School that hosts many refugees and immigrants, Dr Ruler emphasised how their own experiences of displacement connect them to the Hiroshima survivors’ stories. She highlighted that 84% of young people worldwide believe nuclear weapons are “never acceptable,” positioning the students as future peace builders.
The ceremony featured students Mursal and Mahdia as hosts, with the Peace Pole joining 300,000 similar installations worldwide. Principal Anti Macri, Dr Nick Wickham (Co-Convenor MAPW: SA), and school representatives witnessed the dedication, which concluded with a minute’s silence in honour of all nuclear weapon victims.
The event aimed to transform remembrance into action, inspiring students to see themselves as carriers of the hibakusha survivors’ peace message for future generations.
Heidi Unferdorben
Peace Poles Oceania
www.peacepolesoceania.com