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Kokoda Trek Reunion Dinner: Friday, 24 August 2007 | |
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 This year we commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Isurava.To honour this significant anniversary we are holding a Kokoda Reunion Dinner in Strangers Dining Room of the NSW Parliament on Friday, 24 August 2007. The price for the dinner is $150 per person. This includes a three course dinner, wine, beer and soft drinks. All profit from the dinner and any funds raised during the evening will be allocated to village schools along the track. We will also use the occassion to officially launch The Kokoda Trust. The Trust will be concerned with developing educational and health programs for the Koiari and Orokaiva people in Central and Oro Provinces. Major objectives of the Trust include the development of a Memorial Plan for the track. We have engaged the services of Michael Pender who designed the Isurava Memorial to prepare the Memorial Plan on our behalf. The administration of the Trust will be funded by Adventure Kokoda and all work will be conducted on a voluntary basis. ALL monies raised will be directed towards projects identified and approved by the Trustees. Saturday will be free for the various trek groups to organize get-togethers. There is plenty to do – a half-hour trek in the Blue Mountains; abseiling at the Gap; a harbour cruise; a football match or just a lazy around the pubs in the Rocks. On Sunday, 26 August an official commemoration service will be held at the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway at Concord. This is the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack against the 39th Militia Battalion at Isurava. The service will be attended by veterans and nurses of the Kokoda campaign and will include an army band, a catafalque party, a re-enactment group and an army display - see the following article for further details. Click here to obtain the official invitation for the Kokoda Reunion Dinner on Friday, 24 August 2007. |
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65th Anniversary of the Battle for Isurava: Sunday, 26 August 2007 | |
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 The 65th Anniversary of the Battle of Isurava will be commemorated with a special service at the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway in Rhodes Park, Concord West at 10.30am on Sunday, 26 August 2007.Official guests for the ceremony include the Premier of NSW, The Hon Maurice Iemma MP and Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie AO DSC CSM. There will also be a large contingent of veterans from the war in the Pacific including Milne Bay, Kokoda and Buna/Gona. The Premier will unveil a bronze sculpture of the Kokoda track which and announce the constuction of a Kokoda Education Centre to be named after Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner DSO MC. The program for the service is: 10.30: Guests seated 10.31: Cataflaque Party Mounts 10.35: NSW Regimental Band , Cadets, 39th Support Personnel Battalion form up 10.45: Official Welcome by Rusty Priest AM 10.48: Hymn 10.50: Prayer 10.51: Address by Lieutenant General Gillespie 11.00: Unveiling of Bronze Sculpture and address by Premier Iemma 11.05: Wreath Laying Ceremony 11.20: Last Post-Ode of Remembrance - Reveille 11.23: Choir - Hymn 11.25: Benediction 11.26: National Anthem 11.30: Catafalque Party Dismounts 11.35: Refreshments Served 12.00: Guests depart A static display which includes a 25 pounder artillery gun from the Royal Australian Artillery Museum at North Head, a Japanese mountain gun and a selection of WW11 rifles will be on the site for the ceremony. If you wish to attend the service please RSVP (for catering purposes) to Melissa Puglisi, Veterans Services, Concord Hospital on 02 9767 5256 or email to melissa@email.cs.nsw.gov.au |
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Melissa treks into Qantas Magazine | |
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Melissa McEwen trekked Kokoda with her father Peter during the 2006 Anzac period. It was a wonderful  experience for both a very proud Dad and an adoring daughter. Melissa is typical of the increasing number of young people who are choosing to trek Kokoda almost as a rite of passage. The current issue of Qantas magazine features Melissa as an example of a new breed of young Australian adventurers who dare to move off the beaten track.''I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN adventurous and have a great relationship with my father. I bungee jumped for the first time in Bali when I was 12, despite protests. We also whitewater rafted as a family. At 17 I bungeed again, in New Zealand, and we kayaked and trekked on a family-friendly river tour. I’ve started flying and skydiving, and would love to try base jumping. And I’ve learned surfing, which is more affordable than ome of the other things. 'At 22 I walked the Kokoda Trail with my father and Adventure Kokoda. It was the best experience of my life. I fell asleep sweaty and exhausted. . . . Read Melissa's story here: >> adventureTravel.pdf |
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