‘Golden Staircase’ Found
Diggers descriptions of the climb up the ‘Golden Staircase’ towards Imita Ridge never seemed to gel with the actual climb on today’s trek route.
Last November I met up with a team of our PNG trek leaders, Patrick, Wahu Womara, Joe Adoa, Elijah Billy, Robin Guia, Auda Gudoi, Stanley Elodo, Joe Wea. Leonard and Joe Wuena and we went in search of the original route over Imita Ridge.
Our readings took us to the east of a knoll and parallel to the Goldie River for awhile. We eventually picked up the the spur at the base of Imita Ridge which led us up a narrow ridge to the north-east. Even with my GPS and all of the boys cutting with their machetes we we still finished up in re-entrants a couple of times. We will never fully understand the desperation our diggers faced in this environment when they were forced off the track and cut-off for weeks on end.
I was grateful to have our GPS satellite technology combined with the natural bushcraft of our boys and their razor sharp machetes. It was a special to be with them in this environment.
Toward the top of the ridge we were confronted with some magnificent rock formations. Standing at least 20 storeys high they would have been a formidable obstacle to the advancing Japanese. The track around them was a challenge as we were forced to crawl on a number of occasions. We then discovered numerous weapon pits – undisturbed for 65 years – as the track turns to the west near the summit.
We eventually crossed the current track at Imita Gap – after what we had endured to get to the top via the original route the boys dubbed this the ‘tourist track’!
The wartime track continues to the west for a few hundred metres before swinging down another steep spur towards Imita Creek and the base of Ioribaiwa Ridge.
There is no trace of the ‘log stairs’ depicted in the wartime photo however it is easy to understand why General ‘Tubby’ Allen allowed Brigadier Eather to withdraw to the safety of the ridge to reconsolidate his Brigade before commencing the advanced to drive the Japanese back along the track.
Imita Ridge would have been an impenetrable obstacle for the Japanese – it would have been our Thermopalae. They would never have been able to breach the sheer rock face to the east and west of the gap. The location of the weapon pits indicate that the Australian soldiers dug in on the ridge would have been more than ready to repel them.
Adventure Kokoda treks will now be using the wartime track via the original ‘golden staircase’ – it’s a bit longer and a lot tougher but trekkers will have a much better appreciation of what our diggers had to endure when they reach the ‘gap’ at the top of Imita from now on.
Posted by Charlie Lynn
