The RSL is to be congratulated for respecting the sovereign right of the National Government of Papua New Guinea to name its own geographical features (PNG Government Gazette No 88 of 12 October 1972, page 1362, column 2, Notice 1972/28 refers).

Colonel Donald Ramsay, a former Commanding Officer of the Pacific Islands Regiment in Papua New Guinea, wrote in Reveille (Vol 84, No 1 January-February 2011):

‘Re National Congress Resolution 6.1.2, many returned men obviously prefer Trail to Track, hence the resolution.

‘The Australian Infantry Battalion and the Pacific Islands Regiment were awarded ‘Kokoda Trail’ and are proudly shown on their colours.

‘When the Australian battle honours were gazetted in the early 1950s, if the senior generals, Rowell, Robertson and Berryman had wanted to call it a track they would have done so.’

The historic sign at McDonald’s Corner, the beginning of the trail in 1942 had ‘Kokoda Trail’ painted on it (see photograph on page 286 of the history of the 2/3^rd Infantry Battalion titled ‘War Dance by Ken Clift – 1980).

The most comprehensive history of the trail by Stuart Hawthorne is titled ‘Kokoda Trail’.

The name ‘Kokoda Trail’ is the official name recognised by:

• The National Government of Papua New Guinea (which has sovereign ownership of the country)
• The RSL of Australia (which is the national representative body for ex-servicemen and women)
• The Australian War Memorial (which is the custodian of our military heritage)
• The official Battle Honours of all Australian units who fought in the Kokoda campaign

Until a submission is presented to each of the above authorities to justify a change in the name it should be referred to by its correct title i.e. ‘The Kokoda Trail’.

The custodian of Australia’s Military History, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, revisited the debate in 2002 after some new-age historians argued it should be referred to as the ‘Kokoda Track’.  The official historian at the War Memorial concluded that the term ‘trail’ was favoured by a majority of veterans and because it appears on the battle honours of units who served in Papua in 1942. He concluded that the official designation for the track is ‘The Kokoda Trail’.

It is wothy of note that the 39th Battalion has ‘Kokoda Trail’ embazoned on their battle honours, and the official history of the 2/14th Battalion (Halstead Press, 1948) refers to the track as the ‘Kokoda Trail’.

Other wartime publications which refer to the track as the ‘Kokoda Trail’ include:

• 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) - pubished in 1959;
• Retreat From Kokoda – The Australian Campaign in New Guinea, 1942 by Raymond Paul (Heinemann, 1958, ISBN 0 85561 0492) – published in 1958;
• Khaki and Green (Halstead Press) published by The Australian War Memorial for the Austraian Military Forces in 1943
• Green Armour by Osmar White (Angus & Robertson – ISBN 0 04014706) pubished in 1945; and
• The Kokoda Trail – A History by Stuart Hawthorne (Central Queensland University Press, ISBN 876780 30 4) published in 2003.

It is clear that some new-age historians have an issue with the term ‘trail’ because of its American connotations - one can only imagine their reaction if Papua New Guineans declared that our Snowy River should be renamed ‘Snowy Creek’ because it now has less than one percent of its original flow since the dam was built!

For those who respect the right of an independent sovereign nation to proclaim its own geographical identities the correct (and official) terminology is ‘The Kokoda Trail’.

We should also respect the fact that the heroic 39th Battalion have ‘Kokoda Trail’ emblazoned on their battle honours.  The 39th was the first Australian unit to march across the track; they were first to engage the Japanese in battle on the track; and they earned their place in history with their heroic stand at Isurava.

It is time we accepted the official name and moved on to more important aspects of the debate which includes the need for Australian Military History to be included in our education system and for the Kokoda Trail and other Australian battlefields in the South-West Pacific to be identified, restored, honoured and properly protected.

For more information about the origins of The Kokoda Trail see  http://www.kokodatreks.com/history/thekokodatrail.cfm

Posted by Charlie Lynn