THE man whose family started the Australian rice industry and who was president of Huntly Shire has on a plaque at Springvale cemetery in Melbourne the words, "A Great Australian".
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At the Goornong Church of England is a beautiful stained glass window which includes an image of Sho holding a spray of wattle and surrounded by various local wildflowers including "Running Postman", Fringe Lily, Greenhood Orchids and "Drumsticks", for amongst other pursuits, Sho was a member of the Bendigo Field Naturalists.
Legendary musician Peter Ellis, fresh from organising an Anzac Concert at Goornong, with the assistance of the Bendigo Historical Society and more than 50 performers, will speak to the society about the life of Sho Takasuka on Friday, February 6, in the Bendigo TAFE Theatrette at 2pm. Everyone is welcome to attend this meeting in the air-conditioned comfort of the theatrette. Entry is by gold coin donation.
The Takasuka family left Japan for Melbourne in 1905, accompanied by Sho and Aiko, and a third child, Mario, was born in Swan Hill.
Because of the "White Australia Policy", father Jo had to get a certificate of exemption to stay in Australia.
He was successful in being granted a five-year permit to occupy land for the specific use of rice growing.
After a number of failures, he was able to produce a winning combination of rice seed type.
One of these, the "Japonica" strain, later proved to be of export quality.
Sho, aged 14, was sent on rough roads to Leeton with rice seed to the NSW Agriculture Department and the Takasuka family rice seed became the first seed to be sown at the Yanco Experiment Farm.
Jo returned to Japan in 1939 to look after family interests, but died there from a sudden heart attack.
Mrs Ichiko Takasuka stayed in Australia and was forced to register as an alien in 1939.
Her grand-daughter, Nona Ratcliffe, remembers being taken to the Bendigo Easter Procession by her gran.
Ichiko died in 1956 and is buried in the Goornong Cemetery.
Mario, an Australian subject, fought with the Australian Army in New Guinea during World War II, but Sho was not so lucky, having been declared an alien on account of his Japanese birth, and was arrested by federal authorities.
However, such was the support from Huntly locals who had played football and cricket with Sho, his tomato crop on the Campaspe was carefully tended.
He is remembered both in the Swan Hill area and Huntly.
Huntly Shire arranged for Sho’s naturalisation in 1961 and he became president of the shire until 1970.
He was the first Japanese born to occupy leadership in Australian local government.