Sister Cities
Over the past three decades, Townsville has signed Sister City agreements with six cities. All of our Sister Cities are situated in the Asia-Pacific region:
- National Capital District Commission of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (since 1983)
- Shunan (周南), Japan (since 1990)
- Iwaki (いわき), Japan (since 1991)
- Changshu (常熟), China (since 1995)
- Suwon (수원), Korea (since 1996)
- Foshan (佛山), China (since 2006)
The main aim of our Sister Cities agreements is to create friendship and understanding between peoples and to lay a foundation of goodwill and exchange for future generations. Each agreement focuses on the development of mutually beneficial trade and investment, the sharing of ideas, and the promotion of cultural understanding. Sister City relations are managed by the Townsville Sister City Committee, a group comprised of leaders in the areas of government, business, education, tourism, culture, community and sports.
Townsville's Sister Cities
Find out more about our Sister Cities below:
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea and the centre of what is known as the National Capital District Commission (NCDC), the authority that governs Port Moresby and its outlying areas. The head of the NCDC is a governor, rather than a Mayor, although the position controls many of the same jurisdictions, including traditional areas of local government such as roads, rates and rubbish. Port Moresby is Townsville's oldest Sister City, established in 1983. Since that time, significant economic development has occurred between the two centres with some $500 million in two-way trade now flowing between our ports. Townsville has very strong contacts with Port Moresby due to the strong business relationship and the proximity of the two centres (Townsville is closer to Port Moresby than it is to Brisbane).
For more information access the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotions Authority website.
Shunan, Japan
The Sister City agreement between Townsville and Shunan was established in 1990. The agreement was originally based on the mineral trade that flowed through Townsville to the Shunan Kudamatsu Port. Shunan City is the commercial and industrial centre of the Shunan coastal industrial zone in the south-east Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was established in 1935 and is made up of 21 districts and a population of 107,000. Although it has a land area of 339km2. The city has a strong focus on trade through its port, as well as a significant petrochemical industry and manufacturing focus.
For more information access the Shunan City Government website (the website provides an English translation through an automatic Google translation service).
Iwaki, Japan
The Sister City agreement between Iwaki and Townsville was signed in August 1991. The agreement was founded on the minerals exports from Townsville through to Iwaki's own international port of Onahama, providing a sound economic base for the relationship. Iwaki lies some 200km northeast of Tokyo in the south-eastern part of the Tohoku district. The City was created in 1966 by the merger of 14 cities, towns and villages. As a result, Iwaki City has the largest area (123,000ha) of all of the 657 cities in Japan, although it also has the lowest population densities with some 350,000 people. The city enjoys a mild temperature and is situated on one of the most beautiful coastline areas in Japan (the seagull is the official bird of Iwaki).
For more information access the Iwaki travel promotions website (the website provides an English translation through an automatic Google translation service).
Changshu, China
The Sister City agreement between Townsville and the city of Changshu in China was signed in 1995. Changshu is a city with a population of about 1.2 million, up-river and on the outskirts of Shanghai. The two city centres are approximately 100km apart and Changshu is involved in a port development of the Yantze River. The city is virtually a satellite of Shanghai but is, in its own right, a city-state. It has central and provincial government approval for development as one of four major economic zones around Shanghai, with massive infrastructure development and rapidly expanding manufacturing and processing industries.
For more information access the Changshu government website.
2016 Falling Leaves Story
In 2016, filmmakers from Townsville and the Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China recently collaborated in a feature film called Falling Leaves, a story inspired by true events. Find out more about the film and the people behind it, as well as the benefits of filming on location in Townsville, by downloading the document below:
- Falling Leaves (English) (PDF, 1.5 MB)
- Falling Leaves (Chinese 中文) (PDF, 1.8 MB)
2015 Tourism and Cultural Industries Delegation (Changshu and Foshan)
Learn about the Sister Cities' delegation journey, exploring the culture and opportunity for mutually beneficial exchanges between Townsville, Changshu and Foshan.
Suwon, Korea
The Sister City agreement with Suwon, Korea was established in 1996. Suwon City covers an area of 121 square kilometres and is situated in the Kyonggi Province in the Republic of Korea. It is mid-way between Seoul and Pusan. The City has a population of some 1,080,000 comprising nearly 394,000 neighbourhoods, 1,635 tong, 42 villages and 4 sections. Its main industries are in the area of electronics, being home to Samsung Electronics Co., as well as high technology and agricultural science. The people of Suwon are especially proud of Hwaseong which was registered as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1997 and a famous Korean architectural treasure which dominates the landscape of central Suwon.
For more information visit the Suwon Center for International Cooperation website.
2022 Suwon International Future Generation Forum
Suwon City and the Suwon Center for International Cooperation (SWCIC) held the 2022 Suwon International Future Generation Forum: Future Cities for Sustainable Development, including international participants via video link. The forum was held for three days from 25 to 27 November 2022.
The forum sought to create action plans for global issues and sustainable development goals together with the younger generation of Suwon’s international Sister Cities (including Townsville), and aimed to contribute to the establishment of a global network of young talent.
The forum consisted of lectures, pre-task presentations, youth exchange project workshops and Q&A sessions and participants received awards upon completion of the program.
Participants also expressed positive feelings about the forum and found the experience meaningful about exchanging ideas with other like-minded people around the world.
2016 Chef Exchange
To further strengthen the cultural exchange, Suwon and Townsville participated in a Chef Exchange. Townsville was delighted to host three chefs and one city official from Suwon who arrived in Townsville on 18 October 2016. The talented chefs from Suwon played a pivotal role in the "Taste the North" gala dinner which culminated with the chefs participating and demonstrating their skills at Quayside Terminal on 22 October 2016.
We would like to thank Lior Cohen, Will Walquist and their teams for creating this beautiful video below that showcases the exchange:
2016 International Sister Cities' Traditional Craft Fair
In May 2016 Townsville was invited to Suwon's International Sister Cities' Traditional Craft Fair. The fair provided an opportunity to exhibit and share the experiences of each of our international sister cities' unique traditional crafts, along with tourism booths that allowed Suwon citizens to learn about our own history, landscape, and attractive sights. There were estimated to be over 30,000 people visiting the event, with nine countries represented along with the local traditional crafts people and performers.
Gail Mabo attended and represented Townsville, hosting weaving workshops that resulted in the creation of over 2,500 angel fish by attendees. A tourism brochure and promotional banners were developed and formed part of the workshop space and display around Townsville and the Great Barrier Reef. For more information on Gail Mabo, as well as a Creation Story as told by Walter Palm Island:
- Suwon craft fair (English) (PDF, 3.9 MB)
- Suwon craft fair (Korean 한국어/조선말) (PDF, 3.9 MB)
Foshan, China
On Friday 28 July 2006, Townsville signed the City Friendship Agreement with Foshan – a city of culture, a city of charm. The signing of our Friendship City Agreement marked the potential for a new era of exchange and mutual benefit. At the local level Townsville has a strong historical relationship with the people of China and some of our greatest citizens emigrated from your land. Townsville has welcomed Foshan as a valued international partner and appreciates the importance of strong and productive outwardly focused relationships. The signing of the Friendship City Agreement highlights the many prospective links between our two cities and the benefits of exchange in our comparative advantages. This is an important historical milestone for both our cities. Ours is a two-way opportunity that's as diverse and rich as we choose to make it. The people of Foshan will always be honoured guests in our community.
For more information access the People's Government of Foshan Municipality website, or the Foshan news website.
2015 Tourism and Cultural Industries Delegation (Changshu and Foshan)
Learn about the Sister Cities' delegation journey, exploring the culture and opportunity for exchanges between Townsville and its sister cities, Changshu and Foshan.
For more information about Townsville's Sister Cities, please contact our Economic Attraction Unit on 13 48 10.
