The Story of Bega Park

The Story of Bega Park. . In 1951 the US Information Agency made a documentary film of a rural newspaper in smalltown America to promote freedom of the press. This 20-minute black-and-white film, "Small Town Editor," featured the Littleton Independent and it's editor G. Houstoun Waring, III, who was selected because of Waring's widely read editorials on international affairs. The film was translated into many languages and given world wide distribution. , , One viewer, residing 8,490 miles (13,664 km) away, in Bega, New South Wales, Australia in 1954 was W.B. 'Curly' Annabel, Order of Australia (OA) and editor of the Bega District News, who noted the similarities of the two communities (Pop. 4,500) and initiated correspondence with Editor Waring. Communication between the two editors continued and flourished over the next few years Annabel and the Waring's visited each other in 1960 and 1961. , , When President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced his "People to People" program and encouraged the establishment of sister cities, both men moved jointly to implement the idea in their communities. Annabel headed the first Bega delegation to Littleton in 1961. Since then, delegations from Littleton have visited Bega on years ending in 1 and 6, and delegations from Bega visit Littleton in years ending in 3 and 8. , , Bega Park (formerly Rio Grande Park, 1925-1972) was renamed by the City of Littleton to honor the first city-to-city exchange between Australia and the United States during the visit of the Bega, New South Wales delegation in August of 1972 led by Official Delegate Roy Howard, OA. , , Improvements in 1983 included a fountain with replicas of the two continents having a star marking the location of each town, and a bronze plaque of the two founders, made by local sculptor George Stanescu, a gift from the Littleton Rotary Club. The Kiwanis Club donated the flagpoles and the Jaycees put it all together. Both co-founders were present for the dedication of the monument in September 1983. Bega-Littleton supporters provided an identical plaque for Littleton Gardens in Bega in 1986. , , Bega Park is the official Littleton site for welcoming visitors and celebrating Australian events. Extensive remodeling, including the world plaza, was done in 2003, but the historical uniqueness of Bega Park has been preserved. The north and south compass tones for the world plaza are Australian sandstone and the east and west compass stones are Colorado sandstone. , , From this simple start with a film about a small own and its editor there has grown an extended family of hundreds of friends on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. A visit to the shared Bega/Littleton web site at www.us28.com/blce and www.begalittleton.org will provide you with more information about this special relationship. You may also search the internet for Bega, NSW, Australia.