Now, six years later, another companion record has entered the open period which shows a connection between the sister city agreement with Nara and the later construction and opening of the Canberra Nara Peace Park in 1999.

It was during a visit by a business delegation to Japan in October 1993, headed by then chief minister Rosemary Follett, that an official proclamation for sister city relations with Nara was signed.

In March 1994, a delegation of some 100 officials and citizens from Nara, led by then mayor Yasunori Ohkawa, spent two days visiting Canberra. Their visit included a civic reception at Albert Hall to sign the final Sister City Agreement.

We now have a record that reveals more of the story behind the push to have the two cities agree to a sister city relationship.

In 1999, a file was raised to document the planning and arrangements for the official opening of the Canberra Nara Park, now known as the Canberra Nara Peace Park.

The construction of the park within the Lennox Gardens site was nearing completion in April 1999, when then chief minister Kate Carnell invited the media to a "special preview walkthrough". The official opening, however, didn't take place until October 1999 when the deputy mayor of Nara, accompanied by a nine-member delegation, visited Canberra for the occasion.

The citizens of Nara had contributed to the funding for the construction of the park and the names of the 10,000 Nara citizens who had made donations were sealed in a time capsule beneath a lantern donated by the Nara officials.

Perhaps the more surprising information included on this file is the content dealing with a movie premiere that the delegation and other invited guests attended on the previous evening.

Along with the chief minister and World War II veteran and retired politician Tom Uren, the director of the movie, Shigeki Chiba, delivered a short speech before the premiere Australian screening of Railroad of Love.

The movie's central character, in part played by well-known Wiggle Anthony Field, was Father Tony Glynn who had played a significant part in rebuilding Australia-Japan relations following the Second World War.

Chief minister Carnell summarised the significance of Father Glynn's work to Canberra:

At a time when Australia and Japan relations were at their darkest, Father Glynn took on a mission to Japan to promote peace and reconciliation ... While every Australian can be grateful for the work Father Glynn carried out during the 40 years he spent in Japan, Canberrans should be especially thankful. It was through Father Glynn's suggestion that the Canberra and Nara Chambers of Commerce twinned and that ultimately an official sister city relationship was formed.

Through the sister city relationship numerous educational, sporting and cultural exchanges take place annually. This promotes cultural awareness and understanding while providing the opportunity for personal friendships to be formed. I'm sure Father Glynn foresaw all of this and realised that while he may not be able to live forever, through the Canberra Nara sister city relationship, his work to promote peace could continue.

Father Glynn was made an honorary citizen of Nara, had close friendships with Nara mayors and received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government.

He had lived and worked with the Japanese in Nara for over 40 years until he passed away in December 1994, just seven months after the Sister City Agreement was signed.

Planning for the Canberra Nara Peace Park was to begin soon after. It was officially opened on October 9, 1999, and a plaque honouring Fr Tony Glynn was unveiled in the park in 2013.