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Slim Dusty's Tribute to Kokoda | |
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One of Slim Dusty's latest albums 'Natural High' has a song titled 'KOKODA'. This is a wonderful tribute to our Kokoda veterans and the PNG Carriers who supported them. Click here to view Slim Dusty's tribute to Kokoda. Please pass this link onto any of your friends who might be interested in the tribute: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1006253950530 |
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Join Kokoda on Facebook | |
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Join us on Facebook - it's a great way to keep in contact and view the latest video clips  on Kokoda. You can view the following video clips and television specials:. Angry Anderson's Kokoda Challenge . Getaway on Kokoda . Father Chris Rileys Youth Off The Streets on Kokoda . Kokoda - the Bloody Track! |
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Kokoda Reunion Dinner - Melbourne | |
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Gary Blackwood MP is hosting the next Kokoda Reunion Dinner at Parliament House in Melbourne next Friday, 28 March 2008. Gary has trekked Kokoda twice previously with the 'Warragul Warriors' from Gippsland. He was elected to the Victorian Parliament at the last election and has kindly offered to host an annual reunion dinner in Melbourne.
Our special guest speaker for the evening is Kokoda veteran and President of the 39th Battalion Association, 'Kanga' Moore. The theme of the evening is 'A Salute to the 39th' We still have a couple of seats available but you will need to call Gary on: 0409 515 061 straight away if you would like to join us. |
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Kokoda Trail Reopened | |
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Landowners at the site of the proposed mine on the Kokoda Trail have agreed to lift the blockade on the track. A meeting of landowners was called do discuss the outcome of the visit by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Prime Minister made it clear that any approvals for mining were a matter for the PNG Government but he would be concerned at any significant encroachment on the track. The Prime Minister has appointed former CEO of the Sydney Olympics Organising Committee and current Chairman of the CEO Institute, Sandy Hollway, as his special envoy to work with PNG government officials, landowners, clan leaders and appropriate authorities to ensure the integrity of the track is properly protected and the needs of the villagers along the track are met. The landowners at Nauro village who closed the track decided to reopen it and continue negotiations with all parties. This is a welcome sign and we are hopeful that Australian and PNG authorities will work in partnership to proclaim the Kokoda Trail as a National Memorial Park with a view to providing a sustainable eco-trekking industry for the Koiari and Orokaiva people who live along the track. But it will take more than words to resolve landowner grievances on a longer term bases. Over the past 17 years local villagers have observed trekker numbers increase from almost nothing to more than 5000 last year. They are aware the Kokoda trekking industry generated more than $12 million into the PNG economy last year. They also know they are at the end of the foodchain in regard to getting a fair share of the benefits from trekkers. The answer is simple and obvious. The Australian Government must offer to provide a small team whose members have previous experience in PNG, an appreciation of the historical significance of the Kokoda campaign, and expertise in establishing management systems for such an operation. The main responsibility of the team would be to assist and train their PNG counterparts to establish a proper management system for the track and ensure villagers along the way get their fair share of benefits from the emerging industry. Nobody seems to know how many more Consultants, Committees, Conferences, Reports, Recommendations and Reviews will have to be conducted before somebody reaches this conclusion but, for the benefit of our Koiari and Orokaiva friends along the track, we can only hope it will be sooner rather than later! |
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PNG Government Taskforce on Kokoda | |
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PNG Government Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Mining, Dr Puka  Temu, has announced the establishement of a national taskforce to develop a long term strategy for the Kokoda Trail and the Brown River catchment area. The taskforce will be chaired by the Secretary for Environment and Conservation and will include the key departments of National Planning and Monitoring, Treasury, Finance, Provincial and Local Level Governments and Lands and Physical Planning. Dr Temu advised that agencies such as PNG Power, Eda Ranu, Tourism Promotion Authority and the National Cultural Commission will be co-opted when required.The task force will examine issues such as the renewal of the exploration licence of Frontier Resources Mining Exploration lease; the National Capital District's future water and power supply needs; the tourism potential of Kokoda and surrounding areas; carbon trading potential and the option of a World Heritage Listing for the track. The taskforce will also develop a strategy to address landowner issues including short, medium and long term development and employment options. This is a welcome initiative by the PNG Government to address the historical, environmental and historical issues impacting on the Kokoda Trail. |
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Miss World Australia to trek Kokoda | |
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Caroline Pemberton, Miss World Australia 2007 is set to join our 2008 Anzac trek across the Kokoda Trail.  Caroline is not your ordinary beauty contestant. She lists her interests as canyoning, waterskiing, horse-riding, mountain sports incl. rock and ice climbing, snow skiing and trekking. Caroline spent seven weeks in Nepal assisting her brother Rex in his quest to climb Mt Everest - he is the youngest Australian to conquer the world's highest mountain and went on to climb the world's seven highest peaks - click her to read more about Rex and his incredible achievements. Caroline's aspirations are to complete her Psychology degree with First Class Honours, and then continue on to study a Masters in Neuropsychology abroad with the ultimate goal of practicing as a Neuropsychologist. Her mother, Gail, is a Psychotherapist and author of the book 'You can live with anybody, well almost'. Caroline and Charlie met at Bankstown where they were guest speakers at a youth leadership seminar for students from local high schools. Caroline has worked in an orphanage in East Timor with a team from Father Riley’s Youth off the Streets; she is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF; an Ambassador for the Red Cross and Life Education; and is an International Patron for Wakisa, which is a pregnancy crisis centre in Uganda. We hope to sign her up as an ambassador for our Kokoda Trust after she has experienced the track and its wonderful people! |
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Chad's Laws of Combat! | |
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Major Chad Sherrin is well qualified to be a trek leader with Adventure Kokoda.  Chad is a Vietnam Veteran - he served as a platoon sergeant and was awarded a Military Medal for bravery in combat. On his return to Australia he was posted as a jungle training instructor at our Jungle Warfare Centre at Canungra in Queensland. Any veteran who passed through the battle efficiency programs they conducted prior to embarkation to Vietnam will testify to the toughness of the course. After leaving the army Chad has devoted his life to serving Legacy - an organisation established by Sir Stanley Savige at the end of World War 1 to care for families who lost their father on active service. Chad now leads treks across the Kokoda Trail and keeps his trekkers amused with his anecdotes from his days in the army. One of his favourites are the 'Laws of Combat of Combat Operations'. According to Chad: . 'Incoming fire has right of way.' . 'If the enemy is in range - then so are you.' . 'Don't look conspicuous - it draws fire.' . 'If it's stupid and it works - it ain't stupid.' . 'When in doubt - empty your magazine.' . 'The easy way is always mined.' . 'Try to look unimportant - they might be low on ammo.' . 'Teamwork is essential - it gives them somebody else to shoot at.' . 'Never draw fire - it annoys everybody around you.' . 'Anything you do can get you shot - including holding nothing.' . 'Never share a weapon pit with anyone braver than you.' . 'If your attack is going really well - it's an ambush.' . 'No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.' . 'When you have secured the area - don't forget to tell the enemy.' . 'Remember, all your equipment - including your weapon - was made by the lowest bidder.' . 'The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire - is incoming friendly fire.' . 'Make it tough enough for the enemy to get in - and you won't be able to get out.' . 'If your short anything but the enemy - you're in a combat zone.' . 'The enemy invariably attacks on two occassions - when your ready - and when you're not ready.' . 'A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down'. |
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Reveille | |
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The custom of waking soldiers to a bugle call dates back to the Roman Legions when the rank and file were raised by horns playing Diana's Hymn. To this day the French term for Reveille is 'La Diana'. When bugle calls were officially introduced into the British System by George 111, a special call was written for the waking of troops. this was known as Reveille meaning to 'to wake again', from the old French. Joseph Hayden is generally regarded as the composer of the calls which exist substantially unchanged today. On Anzac Day, Reveille or Rouse breaks the silence that follows the playing of the Last Post, symbolising the awakening of the dead in the next and better world (Rouse is the bugle call more commonly used in conjunction with the Last Post and to the layman is often incorrectly called Reveille. Although associated with the Last Post, Reveille is rarely used because of its length). |
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The Last Post | |
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The bugle call Last Post is inextricably part of the end of day traditions which include Beating the Retreat and Tattoo. Retreat is the older custom dating back to the 16th Century and consisting of prolonged drum beating at sunset to warn the night guard to mount and also to give notice that the gates of the town walls were about to close. This custom was also part of the end of day battle procedure when volleys were fired and a hymn played in honour of those who had fallen during the day. At this time of evening the colour would be trooped. Today this latter activity is replaced by the lowering of the National Flag. |
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Kokoda: Track or Trail? | |
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The debate as to whether the track across the Owen Stanley Range to Kokoda should be referred to as the 'Kokoda Trail' or 'Kokoda Track' continues in various forums. The first question to answer is 'who owns the track'? Answer: The National Government of Papua New Guinea. What is the Official Name - Kokoda Trail or Kokoda Track? Answer: According to the PNG Government Gazette dated 12 October 1972 the official name is 'Kokoda Trail'. Imagine the reaction in Australia if PNG citizens began to refer to our Snowy River as the Snowy Creek!! A couple of other important points to note in the debate: . 'Khaki and Green' published by the Australian War Memorial for the Australian Military Forces in 1943 (Halstead Press) refers to the track across the Owen Stanley Ranges as 'The Kokoda Trail'. . 'Green Armour' by wartime journalist, Osmar White (Angus & Robertson, 1945, ISBN 0 14 014706) refers to the track as 'The Kokoda Trail'. ' ' The official history of the 2/14th Battalion' (Halstead Press, 1948) refers to the track as 'The Kokoda Trail'. . 'Retreat From Kokoda - The Australian Campaign in New Guinea, 1942' by Raymond Paull (Heinemann, 1958, ISBN 0 85561 049 2) . 'The official history of Australia in the War of 1939 - 1945' (Series 1- Army, Vol 5, South-West Pacific Area - First Year, Kokoda to Wau by Dudley McCarthy - published in 1959, Halstead Press) refers to the track as 'The Kokoda Trail'. . 'The Kokoda Trail - A History' by Stuart Hawthorne (Central Queensland University Press 2003, ISBN I 876780 30 4) is undoubtedly the most comprehensive historical record of the track across the Owen Stanleys. In Chapter 17 Hawthorne reports the Place Names Committee of the PNG Government formally gazetted the track as 'The Kokoda Trail' (PNG Government Gazette of 12th October, 1972) .'Wartime' (Vol 19, 2002) is the official magazine of the Australian War Memorial. They revisited the debate in 2002 after some modern quasi-historians reignited the debate. The report concluded: 'There has been considerable debate about whether the difficult path that crossed the Owen Stanley Range should be called "Kokoda Trail" or the "Kokoda Track". 'Both terms have been in common use since the war. "Trail" is probably of American origin but has been used in many Australian history books, including the official history, and was adopted by the Australian Army as an official "battle honour". "Track" comes from the language of the Australian bush. It too is commonly used by veterans, and is used in some volumes of Australia's official history. 'Thus, both are correct, but "trail" appears to be used more widely. The Memorial has adopted the term "trail" because it is favoured by a majority of veterans and because it appears on the battle honours of units which served in Papua in 1942.'  Official 39th Battalion Battle Honours . Major-General Paul Cullen, who served in the Kokoda campaign as a company commander with the 3rd Battalion wrote to Charlie Lynn in 2004: ''During the campaigns of 1942-43 Milne Bay, Owen Stanleys, Wau, Salamaua, the War Correspondents were camped at the 7 Mile Airstrip and had to send their censored reports to Australia by cable. This entailed describing the battles along the way as huge enemy losses at Imita-Efogi-Myola. As there was no morse sign for the word 'hyphen' the word had to be signalled letter by letter in morse code making the account payable by the sender twice as high. One enterprising journalist, Geoff Reading was a keen fan of the tales of Tales of the Klondike by Jack London and others began using the word 'Trail' to refer to where the fighting was taking placed, eg. 'on the Kokoda Trail near the village of Efogi' or whatever. Our troops overcame stiff opposition etc. The editors back in Australia loved it and soon it became known as 'The Kokoda Trail'. Soldiers actually still fighting in New Guinea were receiving letters from home containing love and kisses and ' we hope you are not on that terrible Kokoda Trail'. Anyone wanting to confirm this has only to go to the Mitchell Library and see copies of newspapers of that period. Meanwhile those who were still there on the 'Trail' especially the walking wounded were told to take the Moresby Road. 'At war's end when Battle Honours were being handed out, or should I say bestowed, those units which had been involved in the Owen Stanley Campaign were all awarded Kokoda Trail; except the 39th Battalion who insisted having one word 'Kokoda' as they were the only unit which fought there. There were no objections at that time and none since although these last few years some people are saying that 'Trail' is an American word. 'In 1972 the Papua New Guinea Government set up a Place Names Commission, which named the way across the Owen Stanleys 'The Kokoda Trail'. During their investigations they discovered that all the Australian Survey Corps Maps being printed in late 1942-43 names it the 'Kokoda Trail' and that in 1932 the wife of a planter on the Sogeri Plateau had written a book about the mountain trail and she named the book 'The Kokoda Trail' 'Major General Kingsley Norris, the Medical Director of the 7th Division at the time who had traversed it more than anyone else, setting up rest and dressing stations for the wounded, wrote of it, 'Time, rain and the jungle growth will eventually obliterate this native pad; but forever more will live the memory of weary men who have passed this way and ghosts of glorious men who have gone, gone far beyond the Kokoda Trail' General Norris' description of the 'native pad' is worth reading in the pages of 'Retreat from Kokoda' by Raymond Paul, Chapter 6." . The introductory paragraph of a research paper by historian, Hank Nelson (School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University) reads: ' The Kokoda Trail was first used by Australians in the 1890s to reach the Yodda goldfield on the upper Mambare. In 1899, in a three-month patrol, the government surveyor, H.H. Stuart-Russell, marked and mapped the track. . .' The final word: . The track is part of the sovereign nation of Papua New Guinea and they have officially gazetted the name 'Kokoda Trail'. We should respect that. . The battle honours of the 39th Battalion record it as 'Kokoda Trail'. We should honour that. . The official history of the campaign in New Guinea refers to the track as 'The Kokoda Trail. . The custodians of our military history, The Australian War Memorial, have declared the official name to 'The Kokoda Trail'. We should accept that. . Eminent wartime journalist, Osmar White, used the term 'Kokoda Trail' in his dispatches from the track during the campaign. We should acknowledge that he 'was 'on the ground at the time and probably had a better understanding of the popular or proper designation than latter day writers. A sign at the start of the track at Owers Corner reads: '  Amen! Lukim yu next time niusleta, Charlie Charlie Lynn Adventure Kokoda PO Box 303 Camden NSW 2570 0439 303 303 charlie@kokodatreks.com.au www.kokodatreks.com |
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New Email: charlie@kokodatreks.com.au | |
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Charlie Lynn has a new email address: charlie@kokodatreks.com.au | |
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