Both POW and local labourers were used to complete construction, the prisoners living in tents until April 1942 when accommodation huts became available.

This action has remained significant in popular memory as the first time the War was fought on home soil and as the largest revolt of its kind in Australia's history.

[1] After the end of the War the camp and its surrounds were sold to the New South Wales Department of Agriculture and a private owner.

[2][1] In 1991, Cherry Tree Avenue was extended across the camp to link with the War Cemetery and the Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre.

It comprises four walls constructed from a variety of materials including stone rubble, salvaged bricks and concrete blocks.

[1] The site is one component of a national body of evidence which documents the most profound physical impact of WWII on Australian soil.

[4][1] Cowra Prisoner of War Camp Site was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

[5][1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The intrusive tree and shrub growth however, are seen to detract from the significance of the place by obscuring the interpretation of the site as an open space and masking many of the ruins.

Finally, the events which occurred at the site have initiated a profound impact on the form and cultural activity of Cowra in the post-war years.

[7][1] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The physical remnants that remain in-situ represent a technology and building method for an architectural typology which is relatively rare in Australia and which existed for a short time and for a specific purpose.

The physical and archaeological resources represent a database that could be used to more accurately examine the habits and lifestyle of both the guards and the prisoners within the camp.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Cowra Prisoner of War Camp Site, entry number 00619 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.