And no wonder.  Orokaiva warriors fearlessly resisted incursions into the Yodda valley when gold was discovered in the late 19th Century.  Many early explorers and missionaries ended up in village cooking pots as they were stalked in the remote jungle-clad mountain ranges.

Then came the war. Kokoda was the first pitched battle fought against the Japanese. It signaled the beginning of a campaign where Australia’s fate hung in the balance as our diggers fought a fanatical enemy, treacherous terrain, legions of deadly mites, malarial mosquitoes, venomous snakes – and cold fear.

But the enemy our commanders feared most was the ignorance of the armchair generals and bureaucrats. ‘Build a road!’ – ‘blow the Gap!’ – ‘die at Imita!’ – they bellowed from the safety of  cocooned offices in their parallel universe back in Australia.  They didn’t appreciate, from their limited knowledge of the ground and its intricacies, just what was needed to do the important job at hand.

Some things never change.

After decades of neglect by successive Australian Governments Kokoda is beginning to stir in our national consciousness. Political correctness, ridiculous OH&S laws and layers of social safety nets have all but transformed Australians into a risk averse society.  ‘Koko’ ‘da’ now presents an opportunity for them to pay respect to the lives of our diggers – and give some meaning to their own.

Australians from all walks of life now want to walk in the footsteps of the brave and ‘do it tough’ as a mark of respect to a generation who grew from the challenge of adversity. 

A common theme among those who take up the challenge is ‘to do it like our diggers did it!’  They don’t want environmental boardwalks – they want mud. They don’t want an eco-evangelical levitation – they want the historical hardship of the track. They don’t want to be clean and green – they want to be dirty and sweaty. They don’t want Kakadu – they want Kokoda!  The Trek gives participants that special feeling that they are treading sacred ground, not without good reason!

But Kokoda is in danger of being transformed into a monument to environmentalism rather than a living memorial to our diggers.  It shouldn’t be “fenced off” but used in the proper way that befits its dedication to the memory of the brave sacrifices of the Australian and New Guinea defenders who trod this track during WWII.  The custodians of our military history seem to have been sidelined in the process of developing the track between Owers Corner and Kokoda as a memorial trail .

In last year’s five page ‘Joint Understanding between PNG and Australia on the Kokoda Track (sic) and Owen Stanley Ranges’ the word ‘memorial’ or ‘battlesite’ is not mentioned – once!

The document is peppered with the new language of the global warmers – ‘carbon partnerships’, ‘national forest carbon accounting systems’, ‘future international emissions trading’, ‘REDD demonstration activities and global climate stability underpinning global eco-systems, etc. etc. etc’.

‘Military heritage’ has been replaced by ‘World heritage’.

The Joint Understanding commits to ‘deploying experts to the PNG Department of the Environment and Conservation to facilitate PNG Government processes to enable identification and consideration of a proposed World Heritage Site, etc. etc’. No mention is made of deploying military historians to identify battlesites sacred to our heritage, to dispatch bomb disposal experts to assess the dangers of unexploded ordnance along the track, or experts from our War Memorial to establish a similar institution in Port Moresby. The preservation of our joint military heritage does not rate a mention.

It is easy to interpret ‘joint understandings’ between Australia and PNG as a euphemism for ‘big brother’. It’s OK for Australia to send ‘experts’ to PNG but we continue to deny them access to our seasonal markets even though our farmers have desperate labour shortages. It is easier for a PNG citizen to get a casual job in London than in Brisbane. Proper ‘joint understandings’ don’t have one-way valves!

This fact is not lost on leaders in PNG.

Trekker numbers have grown exponentially over the years – from 76 in 2001 to more than 6000 in 2008. We watched as an inexperienced and unqualified authority was established to manage our sacred ground along the track. We watched as it morphed into a self-indulgent system of corruption. We have calculated the benefits to the PNG economy to be around $15 million dollars in 2008 but we shy away from the fact that very little reaches the villages along the track. It is little wonder that landowners are attracted to mining and forestry opportunities.

The Australian – PNG Joint Understanding committed to ‘addressing immediate needs for the 2008 trekking season and create interim Kokoda Track management arrangements’. This is the most important priority when the froth and bubble has been cleared from the document. But as thousands of Australians make the pilgrimage across the track we failed to meet this key commitment. Nothing happened.

And as we are now well into the 2009 trekking season and still nothing has happened!

Two trekkers have died. The track has been closed at Kovello. There is no proper trek permit system. There is no campsite booking system – or accreditation system. There is no need for a medical clearance. No need to submit a trek itinerary. No need for qualified expedition leaders. No requirement to carry satellite phones. No co-ordinated medical evacuation system. No minimum pay and conditions for PNG guides and trekkers. No community development program for villagers. Nothing.

Rumour has it that there is much feverish activity in the parallel universe of the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts in Canberra. This activity is obviously directed towards the application for a World Heritage Listing for the area. 

It is time we said good bye to this well intentioned but misguided concept.

It’s time we refocused on the need to preserve and honour the military historical integrity of the Kokoda Trail. There are plenty of other areas in Papua New Guinea where eco-evangelists can get their rocks off. They should be encouraged to go and find them.

We need to take the following actions steps to ensure Kokoda takes its proper place as a jungle shrine. We need to understand that it is the most significant pilgrimage an Australian can make in search of the qualities that define our national character.

We need to ensure departments entrusted with the preservation of our military heritage such as the Australian War Graves Commission, the Australian War Memorial, Defence and our ex-Service community have input into assisting our Papua New Guinean cousins to care for our sacred sites from the Pacific War.

We need to demonstrate that villages along the Kokoda Trail, and other battlesites throughout Papua New Guinea, will have a sustainable economic future as a result of our emerging interest in the Pacific War. This is key to the future of the track!

Kokoda is a pilgrimage for those who had a relative serve in the war. It is a ‘rite of passage’ for young Australians from different lands and cultures. It is a bridge for those who want to learn more about our military history and our Melanesian neighbours.

In the recent budget the Government announced $10 million dollars to develop an interpretive trail in France and Belgium so that visitors to the area can understand the contribution and the sacrifice Australians made for freedom.

In the same budget absolutely nothing was allocated towards the development of an interpretive trail between Owers Corner and Kokoda!

For this reason alone the responsibility for the development of the Kokoda Trail as a National Memorial Trail should be transferred to the Australian War Graves Commission.

The Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts should continue with their assistance to achieve World Heritage listings in partnership with their Papua New Guinea counterparts. There is much to be done to provide a sustainable alternative to the ravages of the logging and mining industries in the country. A review of Ministerial Media Releases indicates that these areas are their raison d’être – of the 340 media releases issued over the past 12 months only one refers to Kokoda!

Now we understand why the words ‘military heritage’ and ‘memorials’ were not included in the Joint Understanding signed over 12 months ago.

Now we understand why nothing has been done – apart from a few smoke and mirror demonstrations – across the Kokoda Trail during the past two trekking seasons.

Now we understand why the responsibility for the preservation of our military heritage along the Kokoda Trail has not been given the due attention it urgently needs it must be reallocated to the Office of the Australian War Graves Commission as a matter of priority.

Lest we Forget!

1. I respect Charlie Lynn as a leader and for the work he has done both on the Kokoda Track and with his company Adventure Kokoda. I have met with Charlie and some of his tour leaders and believe we have a mutual respect. He has put together a strong and qualified team and whilst we don’t always agree we do talk and discuss issues surrounding the Kokoda Track.

2. The Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) is a Papua New Guinean Special Purpose Authority. It is not Australian, nor should it be. The land belongs to the Papua New Guinean people, in the same way as Gallipoli belongs to the Turkish people and Villers-Bretonneux belongs to the people of France.

3. Australians pride themselves on “being there when a friend needs a hand” and respecting and honouring our soldiers’ ultimate sacrifice. I believe the work the KTA, tour operators, PNG Government and communities along the Track are working together towards this ideal, with significant financial and other support from the Australian Government.

4. The KTA is responsible for collecting the trek permit fees, managing the Track and distributing a proportion of the trek fees to the land owners. As such it is the day to day manager of the Kokoda Track and it is a KTA responsibility to develop systems to improve the trekker experience – whether through campsite bookings, itinerary planning, and accreditation of Tour Operators or developing training programs.

5. KTA’s sole income is from Trekking Permit fees – no government or other ongoing assistance. It is a tight budget and there is a strong desire to put a significant proportion of the trek permit money into the land owners’ hands. It is their land and they should get some return.

6. Although funded by the Australian Government, I work for and take direction from the Papuan New Guinean KTA Management Committee and the PNG Government.

7. Annette Dean, the interim Chief Executive, didn’t quit. She had a short term contract to fill the position whilst I tidied up my affairs in Australia before I could commence.

8. The Australian Government and the Australian people have a strong connection to, and a reverence for, the Kokoda Track. As such a joint understanding between the PNG and Australian Governments has been created to, among other objectives;

• An improved standard of living, quality of life, and access to basic services for communities along the Kokoda Track corridor.
• Improved opportunities for income generation, through the following:
       o Sharing benefits from tourism on the Kokoda Track, through better distribution of trekking fees and development of local income generation opportunities (business and employment)
       o Improved access to markets (transport) for other income generation opportunities
• The preservation of social and cultural values of the World War II route.
• The impacts of trekking are managed to deliver clear net environmental benefits for the Kokoda Track Communities.
• The World Heritage values of the Kokoda Track and Owen Stanley Ranges are understood and where appropriate, protected.

9. This Joint Understanding is supported through three programs; the KTA, the Kokoda Development Program (health, education, sanitation & water supply) and through support for the PNG Department of Environment. The financial commitment from Australia to the KTA includes;

a. Two funded positions – The Chief Executive and an Operations Manager (both Australians).
b. Funding a Business and Administration Manager (Local contract with KPMG)
c. A proposed cash injection to undertake a range of urgent track maintenance projects
d. The financial commitment is complemented by a range of support in administration and project management from the Canberra Office.

10. The KTA has a Management Committee (Board of Management) consisting of three heads of PNG Government Departments, four representatives of PNG Provincial and Local Level Government and two land owner representatives who provide valuable direction to the KTA management and connection to the PNG Government and local communities.

11. The KTA had serious misappropriation of funds in previous years and these monies have now been recovered, the amounts were approximately $80,000. To prevent this happening again there is a completely new Board of Management, totally new staff and a significant management priority in preparing the policies, procedures and systems to prevent this re-occurring.

This commentary is to reassure the readers that the KTA takes its role very seriously and has a commitment to tour operators, trekkers and the local communities. We are all working towards preserving the memory of those soldiers in 1942, providing an experience for trekkers that is life changing and allows people to appreciate and understand the conditions the soldiers fought in and the sacrifice they made, for trekkers to learn of the people who live on the Track – ancestors of those who provided such unstinting support and to acknowledge and respect their ownership of the land.

I believe Charlie and I have similar visions for the future of Kokoda and I will continue to work with him, and all the other tour operators, to achieve these goals. Most of you have trekked with him or been involved in his life in some way. In many ways Charlie represents values that have, sadly, left mainstream Australia. His spirit of the larrikin, the total and unreserved trust of mateship and his strength of character is often harder to find than I once knew. The Kokoda Track needs people like Charlie (and his team) with their passion, commitment and knowledge.

Please judge the KTA on what it does in the future and not on what it used to do. If in a year there is the same mistrust and concerns then I would have failed and I will be brought to account accordingly.

Rod Hillman
Chief Executive
Kokoda Track Authority

Port Moresby Grammar School grade 12 students, Alfreda Nakue and Margaret Aitsi, have a different view of the Kokoda Trail from what history teaches them. Having walked the track recently, both girls say their real life experience of the track has given history a different dimension where they can relate more meaningfully.

Alfreda and Margaret have been back from the track a few weeks but it is obvious talking to them that surviving the Kokoda Track has done them a lot of good and when they tell their story, it is a fresh as if it was just yesterday. The power of that reality is that many more young people will be motivated and inspired. The crowning act of Alfreda and Margaret’s experience is the harnessing of youth power to direct change; the importance of it being that the future belongs to the youth. This is Alfreda and Margaret’s story of how they survived the Kokoda Track and become known as Charlie’s angels, completed with certificates to prove their conquest.

Their adventure lasted six days between April 02nd and 03rd May when 15 other young Australians calling themselves ‘Mateship Kokoda’ came up from Sydney. The Australian team was led by New South Wales MP and Adventure Kokoda legend Charlie Lynn. It included two other MPs; Scott Morrison and Jason Clare. The idea behind it was to heal the wounds of the Cronulla beach race riots.

Charlie Lynn sponsors Alfreda’s education so he included her in the tour and grabbing the opportunity the school picked Margaret to accompany her. Both girls are very personable, charming and charismatic which is not surprising especially when your dad works in a media organisation. Margaret’s late father John Aitsi worked for the Post Courier as a Company Secretary for many years and retired very recently. She is a bright spark so the school made an excellent choice by selecting her for the interaction with the Australian youths on the track. Pressed by the Australians to sing the national anthem, the two girls granted the wish, adding much nationalistic flavour to the walk. Feeling encouraged, Alfreda and Margaret also cited the pledge which amazed their Australian companions. To hear young voices singing the anthem and saying the pledge in the bush with a deep historic background seemed to turn nostalgia into fanfare and the girls felt it. “The feeling that overcome us was really special, quite unique and we felt really proud that moment to be Papua New Guineans and that this was our land where the history linked us to our future.”

They said they expected Kokoda Track to be remote and rugged but they did not expect the mountains to be so steep. “It was very challenging. Just learning history does not tell you about the physical side so you do not feel the hardship. So experiencing the physical side brought appreciation and we now fell very grateful to the fuzzy-wuzzy angels for what they did”.

We saw how very remote the villages are; they lack transportation, health and education. It was sad to see villages walking across those mountains in search of transport to come to the city.

We had very good porters who were willing to take all risks for us and they were the descendants of the fuzzy-wuzzy angels of World War 11 fame. Australians witnessed this at first hand and this is what defines Papua new Guineans. The popular view is that the world judges by the bad things that happen. But when you meet the people, you get a totally different picture and it happened on the track.

After 67 years, we walked the path the 39th battalion of the Australian Army took in 1942 and we were welcome with open arms by the villages. The way they sang songs and how they looked solemn and stood still touched everyone. We feel our school has made an important contribution to the future of the track because the Australians want to make more use of our school in their ‘Mateship Kokoda’ initiative.
We were asked by the visiting Australians about our feelings of the track and we said that the track should not be modernised; it should be the saved in its pristine state. We also said that the porters and guides should be insured and that they should carry two-way radios. The Australians said they would look into our recommendations.

It was the singing of the national anthem that earned them the tag: Charlie’s angels. But everyone agreed at the end of the journey that they had survived Kokoda.

The group was airlifted from Kokoda and had an audience with the Australian High Commissioner Chris Moraitis in Port Moresby during which Alfreda and Margaret’s recommendations were raised. A solemn visit to the Bomana War Cemetery and a camp at Sogeri sealed their conquest of the track and they split with a memorable meal at the Aviat Club.

Apart from the steep mountains, were there any other shocks? Margaret: when we got to Owers corner, the toilets were quite interesting. There was just a hole and you had to stand to do your business (giggle). The Aussies expected the road to be sealed. Here in the city we take things for granted; there are people out there who need it most, they are the people who need help. The climate was very pleasant. At Myola, I asked if the children were in the gardens. The villages were beautiful but the place seemed deserted; there was an aid post, though”.

To conclude their “Mateship Kokoda” connectedness the trek group were invited to Port Moresby Grammar School where a school assembly was not only designed to welcome back Margaret & Alfredah but to include their fellow trekkers from Australia in the Papua New Guinea way of education. Everyone had a fabulous time, especially when this involved the visitors dancing with the Pom Grammar Preps in doing the Margarema.

In 2006, because tourist numbers on the Kokoda Track were rising rapidly, I outlined (on invitation) a proposal to animate community development. Based on local agriculture, it recognised that for tourism to be sustainable and welcome, it must engage the interest of the villagers along the historic trail. It must give them power as custodians of their land to explore new ways of using their land by carefully exploiting opportunities offered by a growing tourist industry. They must reap a real benefit.

We are now at the end of the 2008 tourist season. So what has happened? We have increasing numbers of tourists (currently in excess of 5 000) using the track each year; the number looks like stabilizing at about 5 500. We have sections of government departments concerned with management and governance issues. We have proposals for world heritage listing of the area. We have inter-governmental agreements and committes and task forces established to deliberate on the track. We have had forums, think tanks, reports and strategic plans.

We have had ‘needs surveys’ purporting to tell us what villagers need/want to make their lives better. Much of this information has been collected by teams bouncing from one village to the next in a helicopter, asking set questions and noting responses on forms which can then be collated and analysed. Given the backgound of the this adventure (Australia has money to give away), this kind of survey produces, not a real look at what is needed, but a “Christmas list” of desires produced short term, based on what the villagers think the interviewers might like to hear, and how much they think they can get.

What we don’t yet have is a good understanding of how the villagers who live along the track see all of this, and what is happening to them in their daily lives. I suspect most of them do not even know of the existence of many arrangements put in place on their behalf. Many would not know about the proposed world heritage listing. Still fewer would understand what this might mean for their lives. Yet these same villagers are primary stakeholders in any enterprise which takes place on their territory. They hold the trump cards.

There is a potential, looming resource conflict here. The resource is the land of the people who inhabit the environs of the Kokoda Track. They use it for subsistence and their own cultural continuity. They have a background body of knowledge about it and how to manage it which has enabled them to survive. Then there is another group of people who want the use of that land to make money; the tour operators. Yet a third group is involved; the tourists themselves. They want a worthwhile experience, and this will depend upon good relations between the other stakeholders. Experience has taught us that anywhere conflicts of interest may arise, all the stakeholders must be involved in mapping out solutions. Gone are the days when villagers can be treated lightly as an exotic background for a tourist industry.

If we are to take the future of the track seriously, we must very seriously aim to engage the villagers along and close to the track in an ongoing, meaningful, sustainable management process.

So that this can happen, we need to show them ‘we are on their side’ as it were. Not to give handouts, but a leg up. Relationships in Papua New Guinea, even at a government level, are above all personal, rather than bureaucratic. They are based on building trust, which takes time to create; it is the outcome of mutual experience, of helping one another.

A project such as I have proposed will deliver trust, and a great deal more. Agriculture is something they understand, and in the context of tourism, can deliver a quick return. It will provide a gateway through which the villagers can interact on a more equal footing in the management of their own resources. It will substantially improve the opportunities for women and youth to gain lasting benefit from the tourist industry.

Latest reports indicate that food is indeed getting scarce along the track. There is no longer sufficient food to feed the porters on treks. In practical terms, this means extra porters have to be added to tour parties just to feed the porters.

The traditional gardening cycle requires heavy labour inputs from young men in June, July, August; all high tourist season months. But such labour is in short supply; most of the young men are out carrying for tourists, so fewer gardens are made, and less food is produced. This is not a good sign for the future, as it places considerable and growing stress on the track communities.

We must help villagers find ways which will allow people to provide a food surplus for themselves and trekkers, opportunities to bring cash into the village economy in ways which build the community (experience has shown increasing the income of women tends to do this), and the development of new systems of village governance which are dealing with the real issues brought about by change. When they trust us, they will tell us how to go.

Telling traditional farmers what to do has rarely worked. They have already a body of detailed knowledge which allows them to exploit their lands in a reasonably sustainable way. But they are prepared to try new things, and will adopt what they see as worthwhile.

We owe them our help. There is no precedent in their tradition for what is happening now: increasing local population; a large transient population trekking through their territory each year, at a time when much of their attention should be on their new gardens; a growing cash economy; issues of hygiene and new diseases. Adjustments can be dramatic and very painful. Let us try and make them less so, for the sake of those so willing to help us. There is a heritage to preserve.

Mining companies have learnt to their great cost that they treat villagers lightly at their peril. They all try to save money on “soft” issues like community development, and it backfires, (the extreme case being Bougainville). Here we still have a real chance to make things work for everyone’s benefit. We have fixed up the top level structures, let us now focus some attention on the villagers. We need someone to stay with them, work with them, and above all, listen to them.

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

Country: Papua New Guinea
Place: Kokoda Track
Location: The Kokoda Track, in Papua New Guinea, is a mountain track that winds across the Owen
Stanley Range between Owers Corner, about 35 kilometres north of Port Moresby, and the
Kumusi River, which marks the northern side of the Owen Stanley Range. It was named after
the village of Kokoda, through which the main route passes. It is also known as the Kokoda
Trail. Both terms are legitimate – ‘Track’ reflecting the language of Australians who fought
along it, and ‘Trail’ reflecting the official name given to it. It has become a site of pilgrimage
for Australians and also for Papua New Guineans, with most walking the main section
between Owers Corner and Kokoda (in either direction).

Statement of Place’s Historic Significance to Australia:

The Kokoda Track marks the course of one of the seminal battles for Australians during the
Second World War. In this long battle, waged between 21 July and 16 November 1942, the
Australian Army halted the furthermost southward advance by the Japanese in Papua New
Guinea and pursued the enemy force back across the mountains. The Allied base of Port
Moresby was thus secure. In the course of this battle, Australians forged stronger ties with the
people of Papua New Guinea, as those who carried supplies and evacuated casualties from the
battle area forged their own legend, of the ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel’.

The story of this battle is one of courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice – qualities declared on the Australian
memorial erected at Isurava. This narrow, shifting track over a mountain range has become a
place of pilgrimage for Australians. It is one of the most striking places of Australian military
history that may still be visited.

After spending their first night in a heavily guarded 4-star hotel they catch a charter flight over the Owen Stanley Ranges to the village of Kokoda.

As they move from the airfield, which was a key factor in the decision to send troops to Kokoda in July 1942, they are greeted with shouts of ‘Oro! Oro! Oro!’ (Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!) as they climb the plateau towards the village. ‘Koko’ is an Orokaiva word meaning ‘place of skulls’ ‘Da’ is village. Australia’s first Victoria Cross winner, Private Bruce Kingsbury was buried here. His body was transferred to Bomana War Cemetery after the war.

On the north western edge of the plateau is a large generator installed when PNG was governed as a mandated territory by Australia. It has been idle for more than 20 years and the network of power poles connecting houses and administration buildings are derelict and rotting. A large disused concrete tank is a haunting reminder that the village once had a water and sewerage system.

As trekkers follow the footsteps of the brave back along the track they come into direct contact with remote village communities. On day 3 they arrive at Templeton’s Crossing which is the boundary between Oro and Central Province. The Orokaiva and Mountain Koiari clans in this area have been converted to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They stay converted under the watchful eye of local pastors who conduct church services twice daily at 6.00 am and 6.00 pm. Children with angelic voices and swollen bellies sing hymns in perfect harmony.

A noticeable aspect of village life is the absence of young men who are either working in distant gardens or have gone down the track to seek better opportunities amongst the bright lights of Moresby. Older men sit around their huts while women care for the village, nurture the young and prepare the meals.

Those who venture down to Moresby find there is little work available and are soon reliant on their ‘wan tok’ system for sustenance. Some turn to crime to meet basic needs while others join the fasting growing industry in the country – security! Thousands of uniformed guards with fierce dogs are trucked into the city before dusk each day to stop their own people trying to breach the razor wire fortresses around Moresby.

Back in the villages trekkers notice basic Aid projects designed to support subsistence living in remote areas. Water systems, classrooms and medical centres are in various states of disrepair due to a lack of recurrent funding for maintenance, a lack of regular school/medical supplies and inconsistent payment of wages.

Despite these daily challenges villages are warm, friendly and generous with their offerings of food and assistance to trekkers. The legacy of their ‘fuzzy wuzzy angel forbears is evident to all who trek Kokoda. During their ordeal they establish bonds with local guides who tell them of their daily struggle for survival and of their plans for the future.

On return to our affluent society many trekkers want to help but they soon find this is easier said than done. There is no guarantee that clothing parcels, medical supplies, electronic goods or even letters will reach the intended recipient due to the lack of a reliable distribution service to remote villages. Phone, fax and email communications are out of the question. Assistance with educational programs are almost impossible to monitor as school fees are easily misappropriated and students often substituted.

This may well be the reason why World Vision does not have a sponsorship program for PNG students!

The encouragement of ‘village cooperatives’ should be considered as a means of ensuring benefits gained from the emerging eco-tourism industry are shared for the benefit of all. A ‘Council of Clan Leaders’ from each village could be established to manage the cooperative. Such a system would place the responsibility for the development of the village and the care of its inhabitants in the hands of local leaders

Issues which would form part of the charter of a village cooperative would be the establishment and operation of community schools and health centres, support for students identified as suitable for further education in Provincial schools, training of medics and nurses and the maintenance/development of basic village infrastructure.

There is no shortage of eco-trekkers who will support educational and health programs if they can be assured that their contribution will not be siphoned off by the person with the key to the village mailbox in Port Moresby or misappropriated by influential ‘wan toks’ in local, Provincial or National Government departments.

The establishment of ‘village cooperatives’ would also allay much of the frustration of local landowners who are suspicious that they not be getting their fair share of the benefits generated by the emerging eco-tourism industry.

All the economic and social indicators say the colonial system of government inherited by PNG at independence has clearly not worked in the land of a thousand cultures. A reversal of the system whereby local village/tribal communities are empowered through the establishment of village councils may just be the panacea the country needs to attract the support of eco-tourists and well intentioned philanthropists.