Kokoda is a powerful word. According to the Orokaiva ‘koko’ means place of skulls – ‘da’ is village. The combination of syllables conjures up thoughts of ‘ adventure’ – mystery – danger’ in the minds of sedentary beings.
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!
I agree with your sentiments 100% Charlie; Kokoda is definitiely a part of our military heritage. As someone far more erudite than me said ‘Gallipoli made our nation – Kokoda saved our nation.’ With the enormous growth in interest in our military history and heritage in recent years, Kokoda must be preserved as it is for future generations. I mean can’t we learn one lesson from Gallipoli – the people of our nation fervently want the preservation of significant military heritage sites such as this; look at the hue and cry raised over the road development that threatened the Gallipoli battle site. Kokoda is no different in the minds of Australians – the public can see this, can’t the politicians and bureaucrats! This fact is reinforced in my observations of the hundreds of Australians, young and old, whom I have had the pleasure of guiding across the Kokoda Trail – their obvious emotions as they walk in the footsteps of the diggers leave no doubt that this is a memorial in their eyes and they want it no other way. And let’s not forget the heritage of our neighbours, the people of Papua New Guinea, whose forebears stood beside our diggers during those terrible times in 1942, when their country was invaded and ours was threatened. It is significant that PNG commemorates their ‘Remembrance Day’ on July 22nd, the day their country was invaded by the Japanese, and the battle for the Kokoda Trail began. Kokoda truly is a living memorial to our military heritage, ours and PNG, and deserves to be preserved as such. That our national leaders can even be contemplating the development of Kokoda as ‘environmental park’, with all of the bureaucratic nonsense and misguided controls that have eventuated in national parks here in our country, defies belief and underscores the huge lack of understanding of our political leaders and DEHA in even contemplating this course. Certainly if parallel action by DEHA for world heritage listing helps in the preservation of Kokoda let that continue, but overall responsibility for the development of the Kokoda Trail, as the military heritage and memorial site that it deserves to be, rightfully rests with the DVA and the OAWG. By their inaction, and ‘puddling around the edges’ with no significant outcomes, over the past almost two years, DEHA have shown themselves totally incapable of managing the Kokoda Trail as it needs and I fully support your proposal that the responsibility for development of the area as a Papua New Guinean and Australian military heritage site be immediately transferred to DVA and the OAWG.
Chad Sherrin – Vietnam veteran and tour leader on the Kokoda Trail
Chad,
Readers should be aware that you were awarded a Military Medal in Vietnam for bravery, that you have worked for Legacy in a full time capacity for many years, and that you have led more than 30 expeditions across the track over the past three years.
I have had the same reaction from trekkers I have led across Kokoda over the past 18 years. Most feel a great sense of betrayal by our education systems because they were not taught about the Kokoda campaign – or any other Australian campaigns in any depth during their school years.
If the government can allocate $10 million to the Office of Australian War Graves for a World War 1 interpretive trail in France and Belgium then it should flag a similar amount for a World War 11 interpretive trail which surely must be Kokoda.
It would be a tragedy if we allowed the environmentalists to lock it up before that happens – it would be even worse if unaccountable bureacrats from the United Nations were delegated control of it via a World Heritage listing.
Charlie,
The DEHA was a particularly inappropriate choice by the Australian Government to develop the Kokoda Trail. On 3 key issues – military heritage,understanding why trekkers go to Kokoda and having a genuine empathy with the needs of the local PNG people – DEHA has not engaged at a reasonable level. These matters have been treated as low priorty issues. I endorse the suggestion that the AWGC take responsibility for the Kokoda Trail (as in France and Belgium).
Having worked in PNG and regularly trekked across the Kokoda Trail, it is yet again disappointing to see that the Australian Government initiatives have been side-tracked to meet an agenda which does not recognise the essence of Kokoda.
Rowan,
It is clear that the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts do not have any understanding of the military significance of the Kokoda Trail – this is certainly reflected in the language of the Joint Understanding signed in April 2008. I am not sure why they ignored, or downplayed, the significance of the battlesites along the track. They cannot claim to be ignorant of it – I have visited Canberra twice for briefings; have submitted our strategic plan which took two years to research and develop; have submitted a discussion paper; and offered to lead them across the track to explain the significance of the Kokoda campaign to them.
I suspect that if I had a PhD instead of a lowly psc – and a liking for mung-beans instead of red meat – they might have responded at least once over the past year!
Charlie Lynn is spot on in seeking that the Kokoda Trail become the responsibility of the Australian War Graves Commission. I walked the Trail for the second time over ANZAC Day this year and was impressed by the number of young Australians who were intent on “remembering those who fought for us”. At the Dawn Service at Isurava approximeately 500, predominately young people, paid their respect at that most significant place. The Trail is a Memorial to those ‘good men’ ‘good Australians’ ‘good Australian soldiers’ to whom we as a nation owe so much. It is a Memorial, not a nature trail to be treated as a world heritage training ground.
Take care,
Kel Ryan
Kel,
It was great to meet you on the track during the Anzac period. Your own professional army career (Vietnam Veteran, infantry Lieutenant-Colonel) and your executive positon in the Queensland Returned Services League adds considerable weight to the need for Kokoda to be re-allocated to the Office of the Australian War Graves.
Well done, Charlie Lynn
I had no idea that the project had actually been handed to the Department for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. I would venture to say that it has also slipped past many other old soldiers like us and I think that they should be told! I agree wholeheartedly with your paper, especially the pertinent comments therein about which Government area should handle the matter for Australia.
The Kokoda Track is one long military gravesite and should be placed in the hands of the correct experts in planning the future care of this living memorial to Austalian soldiers and their “fuzzy-wuzzy angels” and as you have said, it is not the job for an environmental organisation.
Best regards John Hoare
John,
Great to hear from you – it’s been many years since we served together at Puckapunyal! I had heard that you worked in the Department of Veterans Affairs after you retired from the army. You would know better than most why responsibility for Kokoda should be re-assigned to the Office of Australian War Graves which is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The DEWHA website briefly refers to Kokoda at http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/overseas/index.htm .
The same web page briefly refers to Anzac Cove, which is of course an OAWG responsibility together with the government of Turkey.
The identical principle should apply to Kokoda – an OAWG responsibility together with the government of PNG.
As John Hoare says above, the KT is one long military gravesite. It should be managed as such. I see no management role for DEWHA.
Win,
Thank you for the reference – you are spot on.
Charlie
I agree with your sentiments completely. I served in the Pacific Islands Regiment after we graduated from Portsea. Patrolling up there was hard enough without having to fight. I can understand the hardship our troops went through and I am very aware of how important their sacrifice was to our future. Kokoda is up there with ANZAC Cove in its importance to the forging of our young nation. To neglect or perhaps I should say avoid the military signifigance in the joint understanding is a discrace. Perhaps we should make ANZAC Day at the Bomama War Cemetary compulsory for any politican or public servant involved in this important work.
Regards Ross
Ross,
Sorry to have missed you at our ‘Officer Caded School Class of ’68’ reunion at the Royal Military College last year – it was a great show. I have recommended that former army officers who served with the PNG Pacific Islands Regiment would be available and willing to contribute to studies in the development of a managment plan for Kokoda but ‘nothing heard – out!’ The environmental agenda is obviously more important than the protection and preservation of our military heritage.
I agree with the thrust of Charlie’s comments.
I began my military service in Australia as a platoon commander in the Pacific Islands Regiment in 1969. I escorted Australian Army Reserve Officers up to Imita Ridge on several occasions. Even then, walking the Kokoda Trail was the one thing visitors wanted to experience.
If the military significance of this trail is not preserved now it will inevitably disappear.
If we look at what is happening in France now with memorial sites and trails being established, how much more important is it to preserve those areas of Papua New Guinea on our doorstep!
Let us apply the same dedication to all areas of sacrifice – lest we forget.
David Read
Dave,
Great to hear from the ‘Class of ’68’ – and catch up with you at the reunion. I cannot understand why we are ignoring the great pool of knowledge we have in former army officers who served in PNG and have an empathetic understanding of Melanesian culture and a keep appreciation of our military history. The lack of any mention of the need for a memorial plan in the Joint Understanding suggests that Canberra based environmentalists have a different agenda to what most Australians would want.
As President for over 30 years of Morwell RSL in Gippsland Victoia and having veteran members both deceased and living who served on the Kokoda Track in WW2 it is disgusting to think that such a significent historical military site where the sacrifice of so many lives were made that any Federal Government of Australia could hand over the responsibility of this Memorial Site similar to ANZAC Cove and the Western Front to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Arts (DEH&A). How smoothly and cunningly this has been done. To think that the words “military heritage and Memorials” was left out of the memorandum of understanding shows the importance that the DEH&A have placed on this war site.
Charlie, you go for broke and if need be we will rally the veterans and the families alive today to have Kevin Rudd transfer the responsibility to the Office of Australian War Graves who know what these sites mean not only to the surviving WW2 Veterans but the widows and dependents of those who fought so valiantly in holding back the Japanese invasion of Australia in those critical years in WW2 history.
Charlie, as a Gippslander you have our total support.
Lest We Forget.
Mal,
Thank you for inviting me to speak at your RSL Dinner in Moe – you do a marvellous job in upholding the fine traditions of the Returned Services League.
I will be seeking their support in lobbying the Prime Minister to transfer responsibility from the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts to the Office of Australian War Graves where it belongs. Kokoda is too important to be locked away in a World Heritage Area.
Thank God or the Charlie’s of the world, else inept Governments of all persuasions would muddle forever in dealing with the preservation of such an important part of Australia’s and New Guinea’s history
If anybody is missing the military significance of the Kokoda Trail they must have been living under a rock since before the WW2 campaign and there afterwards.
We would not be here except for the extraordinary military actions of our Diggers and the under recognised efforts of the New Guinean people in preserving our freedom.
I walked the track and shed my own blood sweat and tears, but in in very different conditions as a personal vote of thanks to all those that fought, died and survived the most significant piece of military action in our modern history.
It is a walk many of today’s young and old should take and then skip over to the likes of Zimbabwe and North Korea and work out why we value freedom so much in Australia.
I repeat , without the deeds of the Kokoda Diggers we would not enjoy the absolute freedom we enjoy today – dont let it be forgotten and or preserved .
Whilst it will be great to make sure the environment is preserved as much as possible, don’t take away the opportunity for our current and future Australians to walk in the footsteps of those who did so much to allow us to be here and celebrate today
Danny Lee
Danny,
Well said mate – there is no substitution for common sense and dinkum compassion for our Kokoda veterans. It was a privilege to have you trek with us and gain a first-hand appreciation of why it is so important to protect and preserve it for future generations.
I strongly support Charlie Lynn in this proposal. The Kokoda Track’s military heritage must be managed by the Australian War Graves Commission, not by a bunch of greenies with no sense of its historical importance to Australia.
Very well written mate! I think Australia is “Going to the Dogs”, in more ways than one of late, particularly since late 2007!
Your timely reminder to Rudd and Coy regards the Kokoda Track may enable the huge Military importance (Military Heritage and Memorials) of this area in PNG, to be forever remembered correctly and accurately for future generations of Australians!
Persvevere
Bernie McGurgan ( a Vietnam Veteran)
Brisbane QLD
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Lynn. It seems that the Government has totally ignored the real significance of this site.
Whilst I am a keen supporter of heritage listings and preservation I would hate to see any action on the Kokoda Trail that did not preserve our military heritage.
I hope that your letter to Mr Rudd is successfull in achieving an acknowledgement of the reverence Australians have for the Trail and it’s military history and that the Australian War Graves Commission is included in the future management of the Trail.
Dear Charlie,
Unless the government is using the environment as a trojan horse to get world heritage listing, the joint understanding misses the point entirely. The Trail is only important to the average punter because of its military significance and nothing else. I hope you are successful in getting the PM’s support to reallocate the task and in so doing elevate essential military heritage aspects.
regards,
David Kibbey
Charlie,
As a member of an organisation struggling to preserve Australian Military Heritage, I shudder at the familiar ‘political speak’ of the Joint Understanding. I understand that the Government has to make these arrangements on our behalf, however, the voices of Military Historical and Veterans Organisations should be heard. The Joint Understanding is written in broad terms in which we may only envision a treatment of the Military Heritage issues. As David Kibbey wrote: “The trail is only important to the average punter because of its military significance and nothing else.” The truth of this statement needs to be spelt out in the agreement and supported … lest they forget.
Thanks Charlie,
IRT (North Fort-Home of the Australian Army Artillery Museum)
Charlie,
Get the Prime Minister on the ground at Templetons Crossing and bring the Kokoda Campaign story alive for him?
The proposed plan is wrong and will sterilise the Kokoda experience. This detracts from the historical significance of this sacred site.
Well said, Charlie! I despair for this world when this happens. People distort issues for their own ends. This is a job for the RSL, OTU Association, and every other non-government military organisation + any right thinking journalist or politician who understands what Kokoda really stands for – and it is not carbon trading.
Where is the Minister of Defence (in China again?) or the Minister for Vets Affairs in this?
This issue need to be brought to the attention of the press so I have forwarded your blog to two journalists.
Charles – Peter Ryan here.Kel Ryan’s brother in Atlanta, Georgia. Did I miss something with the government’s response to all of this. Do these people really not understand what those beleaguered Australian service men endured on this trail and what they accompalished. ?
If the Commonweath War Graves, the Australian Government and the Turkish Government can designate Gallipoli as a sacred site worthy of special treatment, why is the government talking about climate change on this site. This is sacred graound first and last. Men died on it. Peter Ryan
Well Done, Charlie.
I’m involved with the Kokoda Memorial Foundation, and have been since we built the memorial archway at Owers’. What you have said in your blog is the reason why the KMF exists. We are a non profit organisation of returned sevicemen (Vietnam) and share the same beliefs as you. For the sake of keeping the “Track”as original as possible, we need more people, like yourself, to speak out and be heard. As we know, once it’s gone it can never be replaced, this hallowed ground where our Austalian Soldiers fought and died. Lest We Forget.
Keep the Australian Flag proudly flying over the “Track”, Charlie.
Sincerely Bob Long.
PS Give my best to Chad and I’ll see him in Adelaide.
Hi Charlie
You would think the PM would have a better understanding of the Kokoda Trail having trekked it himself.
I fully support your efforts and like some of the others who have left comments, was unaware this was the case. I trust you are successful in your endeavours.
Regards
Mick
You have my support Charlie. Please keep up the good work. It is appalling that such a significant military place for remembrance should be handed over to environmental heritage rather than military heritage.
Best wishes
Stewart Grant
Charlie ,
Definitely Military Heritage, best history lesson my boys have ever completed. The Battle for Kokoda is one of the most important and relevant military events in our country’s short history. God knows where we would be now if our diggers had not stopped the Japs where they did.
A living museum and memorial for both sides that needs to be cared for by the appropriate organisation that respects the area for what it is.
Lets not forget the Fuzzy Wuzzies either this time,
You have my support and best wishes,
Dean
Charlie,
I could not agree with you more. It is almost an insult to our proud military heritage the way this has been essentially ignored by our dim-witted politicians. Sure they are, albiet severely late, attempting to actually do something about the preservation of the Kokoda Trail in all aspects, this is definatly not the way to go about it. What we still need is genuine awareness, and on that note – I am very disapointed in the way Rudd has handled this since he himself trekked the Trail and should, by all rights, know exactly what you have been trying to say.
I might also add that not one of the veterans I know of have been approached regarding this matter. True, our vets are extremely humble; but I know firsthand that many if not all would be less than impressed. As a matter of fact, I am close friends with three 2/27th vets who, if I indeed know them well, would not be too happy about the complete lack of respect and understanding that is shrouding the Trail these days.
Owen
I strongly support any effort to protect such a living memorial such as the Kokoda Track and it should be managed by the people who care (AWGC) not a lot of DH’s who do not seem to have the right prospective on this important matter. if this was a civial grave yard would they be so eager to put the bulldozer into it?
Go for it Charlie — you have my support on this matter.
Bill
Dear Charlie, I think you have hit it squarely. Having served 2 tours in PNG pre and post Independence have an appreciation of what the Trail means in Military History. It is sacred to the memory of those who fought with great gallantry against huge odds. Your suggestion to have it protected as you suggest should be done NOW before memory fades and irreparable damage is done. Regards ,Brian Bowe Ex ARA
Charlie,
I also agree with you and that Kokoda Track should be in the hands of the Australian War Graves Commission. The Kokoda Track is about our war history not about a walk in the park.
Get these Greenies out on the track and show them what it is all about. It makes my blood boil to think they would like to control it.
Good luck Charlie.
Steve
Charlie,
I was privildged to lead a military group over the track in December 1980. Since then I have had the most profound respect for the men who laboured and fought in this type of environment. It truely is a military hearaige site first and foremost and provided that point is understod and accepted by Government, then the sites could be appropriately managed by the responsible Department using say the AWGC or AWM as its agent.
The Hon Charlie Lynn MLC
On behalf of the Australian Veterans Vietnam Reconstruction Group we endorse your actions to request the Prime Minister of Australia that;
” the responsibility for the administration and maintenance of the Kokoda Trail be placed in the hands of the Australian War Graves Commission.”
Kevin Erwin JP (Qual)
President
AVVRG
Charlie I am a New Zealander who has been living in Australia for over 30 years and I had no idea about Kokoda until I read Peter Fitzsimmons book. After this I had a very strong desire to make the trek and encouraged six of my work mates to do the same – some of us in 2007 and some in 2008. For me and for us all the trek was an emotional time and the stories of battles whenever we stopped for breaks brought the whole experience to life – the experience was tough psychically but it was one of the most rewarding times of my life. It seems to me that your proposal to have the management of the track moved to the Australian War Graves Commission is the correct one as both Anzac Cove and Kokoda would then share common management.
With kind regards,
Wayne Jones
Charlie,
Wholeheartedly agree with your article.The Kokoda Trail is about “Military Heritage” not “World Heritage”! Its a pity our “popular” Prime Minister -having
walked the trail himself– does’nt show some of the COURAGE -ENDURANCE –
SACRIFICE -MATESHIP he saw on the Isurava Memorial and make some “hard”
decisions on this issue. Its obvious that the Dept. of Enviroment Heritage and the Arts is the wrong Dept. to handle this issue. If the Australian War Graves Commission -through the Dept. of Veterans Affairs – has responsibility for Anzac
Cove and trails in France and Belgium — then you would surely think a significant campaign much closer to home would be a “no-brainer”!
Keep up the fight!
Regards, Ron Ladner
Charlie,
I completely agree with your sentiments about the Kokoda Track and what you are doing about it. The saddest fact is that the locals in PNG are being forgotten in all this manoeuvring. Perhaps you could join forces with Noel Pearson – he seems to be having a similar problem with the environmentalists about world heritage listing of the ‘wild rivers’ in Cape York! We also need other federal members to start agitating about this: it is the only way to get some action.
Andrew Rankine
I strongly support Charlie Lynn in this proposal. The Kokoda Track’s military heritage should be managed by the Australian War Graves Commission it is of historical importance to Australia and should be protected.
Dear Charlie,
The track was “on my list” since a child hearing of my grandfather’s tours in PNG in 1943-45. I took my townie softness, my phobias and my adult son to the track in 2008. Visions of bren pits, arcs of fire, local people with wide eyes and shy smiles, the jungle claiming its own back, will live on in this family as it should. I am determined to live long enough to take my grandchildren to pay their respects on this 96km Aussie memorial. What would they get from walking on a boardwalk, reading about bird species on recycled paper handouts.
Go hard Charlie!
Charlie,
Well done to bring these matters to the general public. We were fortunate to trek over the ANZAC period and gain a huge insight into the battles that occured during WWII, the whole experience was physically demanding, but I was not aware of how emotional it would also be. Charlie, maybe invite Kevin Rudd to trek with you so he too can get a better understanding than he did when he only completed part of the track under great fan fair.
Do the greenies even know what happened there? Do they understand the significance of the battles along the track? And do they appreciate the needs of the locals? I think not.
It needs to go back to war graves, they may help to look after the track, trekkers and villagers better than they are currently.
This part of our military history needs to be preserved, for some it will be the only connection to family and stories untold.
Considering it is only swept over in the schools how else will the future generations have any understanding of ‘Kokoda the bloody track’?
I walked the trail in 2008 partly as a personal adventure but also to honour in a small way the diggers whom fought there. It is 96 km’s of sacred ground and every existing Australian fighting pit that can be seen walking the trail, even 67 years later, is an existing Australian military memorial.
Please transfer the responsibility for the Kokoda Trail to the Australian War Graves Commission in The Department of Veterans Affairs.
Given that K Rudd and Joe Hockey have walked the track, I find it hard to believe that they are not standing shoulder to shoulder with Charlie and getting this fixed!
Maybe they were just there for the photo op and did not really get to expereince the place.
I too strongly support Charlie Lynn in this proposal.
Charlie,
You have my unequivocal support on this most important issue. The War Graves Commission is the most qualified and indeed the rightful organisation to asume responsibility for this mission.
We, as a Nation need to be mindful of how close we came to having imposed upon us a way of life that we almost certainly would not have welcomed or enjoyed. The courage, determination and sacrifice of our forebears in protecting both Australia and New Guinea as the Japanese attempted their advance along the Kokoda Track must serve as a constant reminder of the consequences of being complacent and unprepared in the defence of our Nation. It must aso be a reminder of our National spirit and dogged determination when “the chips are down”.
Succeeding generations of Australians must be encouraged to make close personal contact with the sacrifices made, and the hardships undergone by those before them by visiting “The Track” in a state as close as popssible to what it was at the time; not as a modern touist trail akin to a super- highway.
I hope Charlie that you get the outspoken support of the current and former Generals who, unfortunately, are often reluctant to stand up for such causes. We could do with their “weight” on this one!
Good luck and best regards,
John
I trekked with Charlie in 2007, finishing with the Anzac Day service back at PM. I didn’t have any relatives who served and to be honest I really only went because a mate said “hey let’s do Kokoda”, and I said, “Ok”. Not much thought went into it really. I believe that I didn’t really appreciate Anzac spirit at that time, and I was concentrating more on the physical aspect of the challenge. How that changed though. I left Kokoda with a genuine appreciation for the digger spirit. I shed a tear on the Track more times than I would want to admit and today when I am asked by people about walking Kokoda my main thrust for why someone should do it is for the military history, and the ability to get that experiental learning that one cannot get from a book. To me, Kokoda is far more about those who fought and died for our Country in the harshest of conditions. Its one of the most attainable links across generations in helping us appreciate the life we have and how it could easily have gone the other way!
Charlie,
Having trekked with you in 2006 I had the privilege of learning firsthand about the sacrifices the Diggers made for our country in 1942.
I defy anyone to stand head-bowed at the Isurava Memorial and not be moved by the spirits of those valiant Diggers past. Similarly, to also stand at the actual spot where Kingsbury won his VC is likewise an emotionall charged experience.
It is essential that the Track be maintained as an integral part of Australia’s military heritage. To this end, whilst environmentalists and their ilk have a definite role to play in developing the Track between Owers Corner and Kokoda they should not be allowed to control that process to the detriment of the military heritage aspect. Importantly as part of that process appropriate assistance must also be given to the PNG villagers who live along the Track and whose livelihood is dependant upon it. Again this is hardly the role for purely enviromental bodies nor indeed for those concerned only with military heritage, but rather for specialist groups working under the overall framework.
The Australian War Graves Commission has shown with its management of the Bomana Cemetry in Port Moresby what it can do and this effort is evident elsewhere around the globe.
I completely concur that the management of the Track should be transferred to the Australian War Graves Commission thereby ensuring our military heritage will remain a proper focus for those future generations of Australians interested in the legend of Kokoda.
Best wishes,
Rick Glover
Charlie,
For those of us who have walked (and that includes Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey) in their footsteps :
“The Silent Men’ are silent no more. We understand now the reason for their perceived silence, for their reluctance to talk of the indescribable slaughter they have experienced, and the acts of nihilistic savagery they witnessed. We understand now their comradeship and strong commitments to each other – an inbuilt support system that renders full credence and authority to the treasured Australian icon of mateship. We have come to appreciate the silent burden that war placed on their shoulders. In the process, we have also come to know ourselves more intimately, as we have placed ourselves beside them scrambling, then stumbling through the mud and jungle of the Owen Stanley’s. Deep wells of grief and love flood us as we put our arms around them.
We remember the brothers and mates who didn’t come home, and feel a stronger bonding with them. We cannot forget their sacrifice.”
Surely the appropriate Australian Government Organization to manage the interests of those “silent men” is the Department of Veterans Affairs (Australian War Graves Commission). How any thinking person could allocate responsibility to the Department of the Environment and Conservation especially in another independent country is inconceivable. Probably done without asking Rudd (or Hockey).
It needs to be fixed by government before anyone loses face on the issueand by which time it will be too late for them , us and the trail.
Ron Beattie
Charlie
I thoroughly agree with the sentiments articulated by you in such impressive detail.
Furthermore, I wholeheatedly join our likeminded respondents
in all aspects presented by them.
Consequently, I find it superfluous for me to engage in additional expressions on this rather weighty issue.
In abiding solidariity,
Alec
Hi Charlie
I was fortunate enough to walk Kokoda April 04, to me it was sensational for all reasons you have previously listed to think 60 odd years ago our soldiers were in the same spot fighting for their lives and our freedom.
I bet none of these pencil pushers would have the smallest idea of what is required to (a) walk Kokoda
(b) the significance of it
and what is desparately needed by all to maintain this heritage.
The day we walked through Isuarava and were piped out by the army was extremely moving and there were plenty of other times reflecting that I must admit the eyes were full.
Thanks Charlie for that fantastic experience and stories of those heroes
Tony Sheehan
Charlie,
I am a historian by training and thus it would come as no surprise that I fully endorse your proposal that the AWG Commission should have responsibility on the Kokoda Track for the management and preservation of all aspects of our military heritage connected therewith. I’m also afraid my biases are showing – I have a nasty image of policy on this being decided by young Post Hole Diggers (PhDs) who have never heard of Kokoda, are politically correct to the Nth degree on environmentalism and who probably ride the anti-war hobbyhorse as well. They need to know that what we are on about with the Track is the preservation of a vital period in our history, not to glorify war, but so that contemporary Australians can understand and correctly value the terrible sacrificial experience of a previous generation. You have my strongest support.
Derek.
Charlie, your campaign to have Kokoda managed by people who understand the significance of the “track” to the many Australians who have relatives who fought and in many cases died there is welcomed. I served in 2PIR and had an uncle who served in the 2/31 Bn and died at Ioribaiwa on 14 Sep 1942. Hopefully I will be there for the anniversary this year with your team about that date. It is critical that the Prime Minister understand the depth of feeling that many of us have about the track and that he will ensure that it is safguarded from (hopefully) well meaning but uninformed beaucratics in the DEHA. I will personally write to the PM and encourge all concerned individuals to do so.
Congratulations Charlie, on continuing to promote the importance of preserving the Kokoda Trail as a shrine to our courageous diggers. Having just returned from the trail 4 weeks ago, I strongly agree with your sentiments.
The primary reason for embarking on the trek was to experience and understand the environment and hardships which my father amd his fellow diggers endured during the Kokoda campaign. This sacred region must be preserved in memory of all those brave men, many of whom were missing in action, and therefore Kokoda remains their final resting place.
I admire your tenacity and determination to ensure that our diggers who served on the trail will never be forgotten. Kokoda must be elevated to the same level of importance as other battlegrounds in the world where Australians so bravely fought. Your suggestion of passing responsibility for the trail to the War Graves Commission is a valid one, and I hope that your voice, along with those of your supporters will not go unheard.
G’day Charlie,
You asked why I walked Kokoda. Well, there were a number of reasons, not the least was the importance of the Kokoda campaign in Australian war history. I was 63 when I walked it in June last year with Chad Sherrin et al. The experience was very moving – in terms of emotional, physical, historical and cultural; not to mention that I had 12 very special days with my eldest daughter, Emma, who had left home 18 years earlier. Not that I didn’t see her in the interim – a few days here and there but Kokoda made it special. Both Emma and I are ex-service (Emma Navy and me RAAF including Vietnam service). We were well read on Kokoda before we walked. What else made it so special was Adventure Kokoda and the military trail, as distinct from the 1920s mail track. Kokoda is not World Heritage – it’s definitely a matter for War Graves.
Well done Charlie on raising this issue. I agree that the logical group to manage the heritage of the Kokoda Trail rightly belongs to the Australian War Graves Commission. Their mission is to protect, and to ensure respect is paid to Australians who died defending our beautiful country. Kokoda simply must rate with equal importance as Gallipoli and the battlegrounds of Europe. I hope the Government won’t ignore the common sense of this. I wish you well in this endeavour.
Charlie well said in your paper. Clearly the kokoda ‘track’ is ‘sacred ground’ that qualifies as not just an environmental trail but of historic military significance. You were asking for feedback on why us trekkers undertook the trek. For myself to get a greater appreciation of what our diggers accomplished during WW2 was my greatest motivation. To have a rugged experience and face the challenge of walking the track was also important.
If the trail is to be properly managed and not spoiled over the future years those bureacrats in Canberra certainly need input from people like yourself. Keep up your efforts!!
Cheers and regards
Steve Bland
Trekker June 2008 with Peter Davis
Thank you for asking that important question – Why did I walk Kokoda.
I trekked Kokoda during the Anzac Period in 2007 with a good friend, Trevs, You may recall that Trevs and I both had previous Army Reserve experience, so we had an underlying respect for what occurred and what was achieved along the track. We wanted to pay our own respects as have many others. I also turned 50 on the morning we were at Isurava and that in itself was a milestone for me and a unique way to mark the occasion.
But I think I speak for both Trevs and myself when I say that we did it to mark our respect for past heroics, gallant leaders of men and unselfish acts of self sacrifice. Why did we choose Adventure Kokoda and more importantly had asked for you personally as our trek leader – because of your evident commitment to the military history of the track, a wealth of knowledge about the people and a commitment to the future of the track as a going concern, not only for the benefit of Adventure Kokoda but so that as a nation ‘we shall not forget’
In my entry in your ‘blog’ previously I was remiss not to also mention that I feel it is important that we continue to inform trekkers of the events that took place along the track through the building of ‘information’ plaques. If this is what you mean by an ‘interpretive trail’, then I wholly agree. I remain in awe of your capacity to remain committed to the memories of our Kokoda veterans and wish you well.
Lest we Forget.
Charlie, I walked the track August 2007 in John Nalders group accompanied by my second eldest son along with a good mate, at the time, of some 30 years standing, he also had one of his twin sons with him. My mate and I have a keen interest in Australian military history, he more knowledgable than myself. We both, along with our wives, had been to Gallipolli for Anzac Day back in 2002, for me an unforgettable and moving experience, I had two great uncles there, one came back, the other is a name on the wall. My father served in New Guinea in the war, not on the track but in the first amphibious landing at Finnshaffen then at Moratoi. Over the years having read all I could about the Kokoda Track and other theatres in NG it naturally followed with a desire to walk the track and experience a bit of what it must have been like for our soldiers. As mentioned my father was in NG, the experience, as it did to so many, left him physically and mentally scarred, he had frequent nightmares till the day he died, all too young at 57, I’ve outlived him by 6 years to date. My experience walking the track in the footsteps of so many, was so moving I still get goose bumps and or a tear in my eye thinking about it, I’m so glad I did it and will, if finances allow, do it again. Besides the moving times there were many happy and enjoyable times with fellow trekkers and ‘the boys’. Bit long winded but somes up why I walked the track. Like all of the previous comments, I totally concur with and support your line of thought and proposed actions – the Track should remain a living memorial to all our diggers, those who vame back and in particular those still there. I support responsible conservation of the environment but in this case ‘bugger’ the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts, what a joke, what a potential disgrace ! Prime Minister Kevin Rudd having experienced first hand walking the Track should be ashamed – think again Mr Rudd – listen to Charlie Lynn and others – ensure the military heritage of the Track has the same status as does those other worthy and hallowed places such as Gallipolli and other battlefields of Europe.
I’m constantly amused and disappointed at Australia’s ignorance of Kokoda and its vital history.
Although many Australian’s travel half way around the world to visit Gallipolli, Kokoda is often ignored despite the fact that it is basically in our own backyard.
I ventured to Kokoda in April 2007 and had the privilege of being under the guidance of Chad and Martin. Its a very unique and moving experience and I can say with great pride thats its one my greatest achievements.
To walk on the same soil as the Kokoda legend’s is a humbling experience and one I will never forget.
Well done Charlie for your constant perserverance regarding Kokoda.
You just have to wonder what state Kokoda would now be in if Charlie had not taken a serious and committed interest in its past and its future.
Charlie
I don’t have any family history with the campaign in the Pacific or anywhere else that I know of.
So why did I walk Kokoda?
Mainly, I guess, to gain some sort of understanding of what our Diggers when through.
How would I feel, what would I do, if I where in their place.
Like most Australian’s I have not had to fight for my Country.
We are lucky…..
Lucky due in no small amount to the efforts of a group of normal every day Australians that came together and did extraordinary things.
How can we not preserve the memory of those events?
I’m sorry Charlie…… sorry that you have to continually fight this fight.
The Kokoda environment is magnificent and should be preserved.
But not for our sakes, rather for the land owners.
Its their place, their home.
But Kokoda wouldn’t be Kokoda with out the military history.
I think your suggestion of having the same organisation oversee our interaction with Anzac Cove and the Kokoda Trail a good one.
Best regards,
Bill
Charlie, Thanks for your continued interest, support and dedication to our forebears on Kokoda.
My reason for going was very much as a dedication to the heroes who fought for my country. I am of Dutch heritage, my father was put into a Labour Camp during WW11 at the hands of the Germans. He never ever spoke about his experiences to us his kids, we only got snippets from Mum. So obviously his experiences were pretty terrible. That gives me a very small insight in to what ‘war’ does. And as an Australian I have always had a respect and interest in the forces and what they achieved. Always felt pride and sadness on Anzac Day, and I attend the Dawn Service annually.
Specifically with Kokoda, my life long mate found out that his father Clive Kleehammer had been on Kokoda and survived. My mate decided to do Kokoda, in honour of his estranged and now deceased father. He invited me and I was very happy to go to celebrate my mate’s father and his mates, comrades. Bad knees ended up ruling my mate Dennis Smith out of Kokoda, so the end result was myself, my two grown sons and my brother-in-law did Kokoda under the guidance of John Nalder and Peter Morrissey, last July. ( and we met you going the other way, so that was a nice touch for us )
Because of John and Peter, their passion and dedication, we are even more respectful and appreciative of the Military aspect than before. It’s never been an environmental or tourist focus for us, not at all. I am very keen that the Military aspect is the main focus, because I want to return and this time take one of my daughters. She is an “Aussie” and I want her to experience the amazing emotion and pride we did, a rare opportunity that we fortunately we given. I definitely don’t want the very special Kokoda Trail reduced to a tourist jaunt full of Greenies!
Regards,
Tom
Afternoon Charlie,
I agree whole heartedly, the War Graves Commission is a wonderful idea. We have seen their work on the Somme, impressive in anyones language.
I am sure they would treat Kokoda and the local population with the respect they deserve.
Regards
michele nardi
Hi Charie,
Thank you for allowing me to contribute my suggestions.
You had asked about why I trekked Kokoda. My background is from Iraq and
thus I have no military connection to the Track. In addition, I confess to being
quite ignorant about the Kokoda Track and its significance – even though I am well
read up on the First and Second World Wars, I remained unfamiliar and
ignorant of Kokoda. I had only heard of the challenge that it presents. That was my
first motivation to undertake the trek – to push my self out of the normal
bounds. What I got was a whole lot more. The most humbling experience was
when Chad gave me the Australian flag to carry the last few meters up to
Owers Corner. That was an excellent feeling and a memory that I will cherish
and hold proud.
The track was certainly challenging and today remains the hardest thing that I accomplished.
I remember clearly, on the final morning of our November trek, while having
breakfast at Ella Beach Hotel I asked Chad if he was trekking during Anzac
day and whether it was possible for me to join his group. He said yes. I then
and there planned to trek that Bloody Track again. This time, it was for Anzac
Day and for the special meaning behind it.
The second time around was purely for the history and appreciation. The
challenge was there, it didn’t get any easier second time around, but I was
gaining much more. The Ashorava memorial, and the Boomana Cemetery – amazing- both had a greater impact on me than the sites at Gallipoli which I visited
some years ago. The second time around was for the history, the pride and
appreciation – even though I’m of ethnic background I wished to acknowledge
and thank those young diggers who made it possible for me to have the life, the
choice and freedoms which I, and others like me, enjoy today.
If time and commitment allow, I would like to trek it again for a third
time Its a real invigorating opportunity.
As to the question of World or Military Heritage:
I’ll start off by saying that I’m not sure what department does what and
what contribution they will have or make – and thus I’m really not qualified to
comment on whether this department or that department should look after the
Track.
The question I would pose to the government is:
“Do you see the Kokoda Track as part of the Australian war campaign of WWII?
If so, shouldn’t it afforded the same respect and contribution as other notable
cites like Anzac Cove?” The answer will of course indicate which department
should be running the administration of the Track.
If Kokoda becomes a World Heritage site – wouldn’t that ensure that it
becomes protected and remain undamaged? I don’t know the implications and benefits. World Heritage listing, wouldn’t that put Kokoda on the international scene?
Military heritage? I was watching a show on Kokoda yesterday on TV about
these three heart by-pass patients who trekked Kokoda. I was upset by the fact
that when they made the tribute to the fallen they only spoke of the Japanese and
Australian dead – and totally neglected the locals. I found that odd. I
think, that this is a common theme when people talk about Kokoda. This is a glaring
omission. Why would the locals have any association with the Track when they
are more often than not excluded from its historical and military
significance.
Charlie, AK is the only company that makes any presentation of the military
aspects of the track. Thus of the 25 odd companies that undertake the
journey, only a handful place an emphasis on the war and military history. I think at
school and in Australian history in general the Track is often relegated to
the margins. Is this a government policy? Is this a short fall of the DoD? Do a
greater awareness be made of the significance of the track?
I do believe that your contributions to increase awareness and education of
the Australian public is of great importance and significance. This will be
necessary to pave the way for any public support to pressure the government
in giving the Track the attention and respect that it deserves.
Change the Flag, rewrite the National Anthem, & for good measure obscure the history of Kokoda. There is a kind of peverseness nowdays in Australian socioty that is unhappy if things are not changing – change JUST BECAUSE.
It would be interesting to know who instigated this notion of the Dept. of Enviroment, Heritage & Arts putting their claim on Kokoda.
Kokoda is SPECIAL, Kokoda is HISTORY, Kokoda is SACRED & should be left to the good management of the Australian War Graves Commission. If Rudd does not bring this about , it will just show how shallow was his treading of that ground. The ” greenies ” have their place, but it’s not the Kokoda Track. Leave it to those who really care.
Charlie,
Yes we all trek The Kokoda Trail for different reasons but when you table the responses i am sure there will be a common theme that stands out.
My daughter Sally 24 years of age and myself 57 later this year became interested in the history of the Kokoda Trail when Sally was asked to investigate the role of a Medic during that campaign.Sally a high school teacher has been in the Army Reserves for the past 4 years and is now a Lance Corporal but it was her specialist role as a Medic that had us researching for this project.During our research my mother informed me that my father was due to be shipped out to PNG when the war ended.He had previously been in the NT and WA before doing some jungle training.My brother Alan a TPI as a result of the Vietnam War also threw his weight behind our rearch and eventual Trek.From our research grew an interest thru the books and articles we had read and so the idea was sown to do the Trek and experience the conditions first hand.This we certainly did during the Anzac Trek with Charlie this year.We knew there would be a physical challenge that was a given.We all learnt just where the term mate comes from as it was our mates that helped get us thru as it did all those years ago and how tough is it to leave the injured behind as we also did.Ours were evacuated by by helicopter the soldiers died.These were people we had met the day before leaving on the Trek,now close friends after just 10 days,how can this happen?Yes i could go on about the emotion that was felt by us all before,during and after but thats special to AK 903.I hope this contributes to the cause you have my support.
Charlie,
I support your idea of having War Graves Commission look after the Kokoda trail.
I have visited a number of sites in PNG where my father was during the War – Aitape, Wewak (Mission Hill 2 VC recognised), Cape Wom, Madang (Coastwatcher memorial), Lae War Cementry & ANZAC day at Port Moresby. I have also visited the Normanby Landing Beaches, Villiers Brenanaux and a great uncles grave in Northern France from WW1.
The difference between Europe & PNG is worlds apart.
I feel disappointed as an Australian everytime I think of PNG.
Why has our Government not learned from past mistakes.
We need to respect the locals and work with them to make the improvements they want while at the same time showing respect for our heros of WW11.
We cannot use Western problems & solutions to save the world via a “greenie solution” for the Kokoda.
The villages will still need to burn their gardens each year, they presently live with nature in a natural way.
To add a funny story when I visited PNG north coast in 2005, their was more Japanese tourist following their families war history than Australians. If you understand the terrian, Japanese defenses and preparation, the winning of these campaigns by the Australian forces were incredible. Australian tourism to these areas would also help the local economy.
Charlie keep up the fight.
Regards
Geoff
Charlie
I agree wholeheartedly that people embark on the track for different reasons – If they complete the journey and have not experienced the historical and military connection then they have seriously missed out.
I feel absolutely privileged and proud to now have a linkage to the heroes of the campaign who so dramatically and emphatically and unceremoniously demonstrated exactly what so many of us hope to be the essence of what it is to be Australian. I share your frustration and your vision and support your approach to Government to recognise and appropriately value this very significant piece of our history.
It is a mystery to me how and why it is that so many Australians are ignorant of the significance and details of what was achieved by the soldiers and villagers during the campaign and the extent of the debt that we owe to them.
As a nation we define ourselves by our actions. Not just at the time but also posthumously in how we choose to celebrate and recognise and commemorate and share our achievements.
I hope you can help them get this right for us and for the people of PNG.
During our journey, we crossed paths with other groups who were not being exposed to the military aspects and history of the track. At Brigade Hill we were being briefed about the site and the campaign and the undulations in the ground. Someone ahead of us had pitched a tent directly on top of the graves – not knowing – and when they were asked to remove the tent – their comment was that if it was important then there would be a sign or something identifying the graves and telling them to demonstrate respect. The incident demonstrates a few different issues. I suspect that our group generally actually felt sorry for them. They were probably embarrassed and chose a response that in hindsight they may have changed. The opportunity to walk the track and directly experience something of the actual history is quite unique. To be so directly in contact with our history – it was an experience of pride and kinship and honour and respect and humility and understanding.
I know they are all words that you will already have heard repeated many times over. I feel a little peripheral and uninfluential to the issue or the way forward.
Did Mr Rudd walk a different track to the one I walked?
Charlie,
Well done, your comments have my full support. It is ridiculous to diminish the huge Military significance the Kokoda Track represents. Notwithstanding other developments in the Pacific Region at the time, Australia was under great threat. Those lives offered & the sacrifices made by our Diggers ensured our freedom was won.
As far as I am concerned the Kokoda Track is and must remain a shrine to ALL who served on it to preserve the freedom we Aussies enjoy. On no account should it be managed by those without a sense of its historical importance to Australia.
I say again in support of Charlies proposal, get the Australian War Graves Commission to manage this Heritage in the appropriate manner.
With you all the way Charlie
Regards
Joe
Dear Charlie
I am greatly concerned to hear that the Kokoda Track is coming under threat again. I feel the protection of this magnificent icon should be given a paramount priority and any current arrangements should be elevated and given equal priority to Anzac Cove and any of the French sites.
As for my reason for walking The Track, I am ex-military having served in the Royal Australian Navy and the Army Reserve some years after paying off from the Navy. I am very interested in Australia’s military history and wanted to walk in the footsteps of my heroes (I believe the term ‘Hero’ is thrown around too lightly these days). Indeed, one of the motivators for me while I was on The Track was the thought of how easy I had things on the The Track. I was not being shot at, I was not diseased and I did not have to carry rifles, guns and ammunition. I also wanted to improve my knowledge of what happened on the track and visit those places of significance such as Brigade Hill, the surgeons rock and Isurava amongst the many others. My experience on the Track was significant and life changing and I appreciate having been able to do it immensely. I am also very honoured that I was able to have had that experience in the company of a group of very old and close friends of mine with whom I grew up and went to school with. Most of them are also ex-military.
Maintain the pressure Charlie, The Track has to be preserved at all costs.
I totally agree with Charlie.
I walked the Track in 2007 with Charlie and Adventure Kokoda finishing at Bomana for Anzac Day. What a truly awesome experience. To walk in history and try to get an appreciation of the difficulties our soldiers, in particular the poorly trained and equipped militia, endured is very sobering.
I enjoyed the walk despite finding it very physically challenging. My motivation was to see where the militia battalions had fought to deny the Japanese the opportunity to advance to Port Moresby and beyond. I think the track should stay as it is. Boardwalks, sawn timber steps, flashy resort style accommodation or other improvements that will take away from the raw beauty of the area must not be allowed. There is no place here for environmentalism Australian style here.
The poor treatment of our nearest neighbours, especially the “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels”, has been ongoing since the end of WW2. We have rightly put great resources and energy into WW1 battle sites on the other side of the world but pretty much ignored PNG and island to our near north. Isurava is the only memorial of any consequence in the Owen Stanleys.
The suggestion that the area should be managed as a world heritage area is absurd. The local landowners would be robbed of their land and the end result will be the control of their land would be handed to some faceless international organistaion and they will have no control over their own land.
We need to help the villagers on the Kokoda Trail to develop walker friendly facilities and receive a fair return for service, including camping rights, from walkers. They also need better schools and medical facilities. Provision of these will reduce the lure of easy mining company money.
While the War Graves Commision will be a suitable organisation to manage the significant war sites I am not sure they would be in any position to assist with the land ownership, schooling and medical requirements of the villagers along the track.
A non corrupt Kokoda management organistaion could achieve this very easily.
Keep up the good work Charlie. It must be preserved as a memorial to our ‘diggers’ who fought so hard to save Australia in its darkest hour.
Lest we forget.
Charlie
I agree that the Kokoda Trail does afford higher priority.
I walked Kokoda in honour of my father(who just turned 88 and had an ankle replacement who still runs cattle and breeds racehorses on a small property on the South Coast of NSW) who served in the 2/2 AIF, to try and gain some understanding of what all the lads went through. It was an experience that is difficult to describe sometimes.
I’m glad I walked it when I did and chose your group, as the history learned along the way is something you can’t get from any book or film. Hopefully Kokoda will be still be a ‘walking trail’ in years to come and it’s important that the Federal Government step up and take some leadership in this matter. It definitely was the most significant period of WW11 for Australia.
Good Luck with your efforts.
Regards
Michael Ryan |
To think that in my life time I would witness such arrogant disregard for our heritage. And from an Australian Government Department. It is enough to make one spit.
This “vision for the future” is to be developed in a spirit of cooperation, mutual respect and responsibility. Where then is respect for preserving the spirit of Kokoda forged by our diggers? It also speaks of culture. It is more like cultural amnesia. Well, there are many who will NOT forget. There are still those who can never forget the gaunt, Atebrin yellowed faces of the survivors.
It is as though Kokoda rather than being a powerful military symbol is seen by the Government as merely some geographic point on which it can focus another climate change initiative (stunt) part of a morbid minded embrace of this faux threat. Save the politics for another time and another place.
It is not surprising to see such a document. Negotiation of the Understanding was left to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. What a choice. Of course “whole of government” initiatives are lead by the Department’s own experts in “biodiversity and cultural values”. No room for military historians here. Secret women’s business perhaps where only the culturally sensitive can be allowed?
Naturally the release is peppered with turgid new speak acronyms and jargon, REDD, sustainable development, mutually determined engagement, forest carbon partnership, etc. etc. It fits neatly into the present Government’s desire to be seen always as visionary.
The Understanding, with its lofty objectives, bereft of detail and for a remote region in another country, is a perfect example of PR gain with no outlay pain. It contains no acknowledgement of the work that has gone before. It is also a vehicle for mendicant bureaucrats and other experts endlessly to reinvent the wheel while keeping it spinning.
The military significance of Kokoda must remain uppermost and be clearly recognised in any understandings or agreements not carbon reduction, world heritage listing or other populist causes. World heritage listing is the true agenda. Such an outcome will mean exclusion not inclusion.
This nasty attempt at social engineering is designed to make Kokoda into something it is not. It was not so long ago that ANZAC Day was also pilloried from on high. Austrailans said; ‘Let it be’. It is now bigger than ever. Australians have a good eye for humbug and when found deal with it mercilessly.
Ideologists think they understand history. They do not. When Australians realise what the Department is up to they will be dismayed and there will be an outcry. The remedy is to fight the Minister and his department. Publicity is the way. Get the Department out into the light.
This initiative by Charlie is a good start. The memory of all those who served must remain in the van and not be allowed to stumble or to fall behind to be picked off by those in power with no memory, no conscience nor pride in our past.
George Bindley
My father was Major General Kenneth Eather who was Commander, 25 Infantry Brigade, AIF, when it halted the Japanese advance at Imita Ridge outside Port Moresby. The Brigade then fought the Japanese force, along with other 7 Division formations and Militia units, back the way they had come, retaking Kokoda on 4 Novemeber, 1942. With 7 Div units, the Bde then comprehensively defeated a reinforced an ddetermined Japanese force, of equal size, at the Battle of Gorari, cited by one major American historian as the turning point, on land, for the Pacific War.
I mention this history as it seems to have been completely expunged from the concerns of those that wrote the World Heritage report. This history directly secured the safety of Australia in a campaign second in importance only to Gallipoli to this country.
These battles, these men and the places that they made this history are the proper, and only, concern of any effort by the Australian Government in relation to their preservation. To completely ignore them is a gratutitous, possibly calculated, insult to the events of this campaign and the men who fought there.
I heartily concur with Major Lynn’s position and cannot imagine how the attention to the crucial historical issues has been ignored in as cavalier a manner. I would hope that the responsible Minister acts with extreme emergency to rectify and this unbelievable distortion and begin a proper examination with the historical and practical matters mentioned by Maj Lynn as the basis of terms of reference.
I also contributed to the establishment to the Kokoda Memorial at Concord,New South Wales, when on that Memorial’s committee and Chairman of the Planning Committee (NSW) for “Australia Remembers”. I mention this to indicate I have a thorough understanding of the issues involved and to underline my complete accord with the comments of Maj Lynn.
Owen Eather.
Hi Charlie,
I totally agree with you, Kokoda track and the PNG campaign is so much a part of our military history and should be managed by Australian War Graves Commission. The Kokoda campaign was the only war our soldiers fought to protect our nation. You asked why l wanted to trek the track, many reasons but the most significant was that a very close family friend fought on the track. My father told us some storys but Ted never talked about it to us, he said to me last year when l told him l was going to walk the track “What the bloody hell would you want to do that for” it was hard to explain to him why. I am so pleased l experienced walking the track and are currently making plans to return in 2010 with Adventure Kokoda, finding 15 people to join me is taking longer than l thought.
I would like to say stand up pollies that have walked the track and make the changes required to eliminate the cowboy companies that walk the track for financial gain only and don’t contribute or assist the villagers along the track and have all the safety requirements in place for their trekkers. There needs to be procedures implemented with conditions and systems that all companies that trek the track abide by. I wish you all the best in the quest for change.
Dee Stewart
Hello Charlie,
I walked the Kokoda Trail in memory of my Pop (on my fathers side). He passed away in 1997 and since then I had a thirst for information about this time of his life that he never spoke about. I apologize for my ignorance if I am wrong in any of my thoughts of the history of wars in which Australian soldiers fought but I believe the Kokoda campaign was one of the closest calls Australia has had to an invasion in wartime as all books I have read imply that should the result have been different in Kokoda then the Japanese would have surely used PNG as a lauching pad to attack Australia (again I can’t apologize enough if my recall is wrong).
Surely this rates just as high an importance in Australian Military History, observance and preservation as the Gallipoli and other campaigns. I walked the Kokoda trail in 2007 and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. This experience would have been greatly diminished if it wasn’t for the mud and the rugged conditions and the welcome we received from the villagers. I was there to try and picture what my Pop would have experienced and even being there and feeling the chills race up my spine as John Nalder recounted various battles along the track it was still hard to fathom what it must have been like for my Pop.
And yet isn’t that part of the significance of the like of the Kokoda and Gallipoli campaigns. That I do not know these hardships as throughout my life I experience the freedom they fought so hard for. I had never heard the comment Chad Sherrin shared of “Gallipoli made our nation, Kokoda saved our nation” but it seems to sum up all that needs to be said in regards to Kokoda as an integral part of our Military Heritage and deserving of the same attention as that to which Gallipoli and other campaigns receive.
Charlie,
Like you, I am dismayed at the lack of progress in developing and implementing a management plan for the Kokoda Trail. It is particularly disappointing that the Plan for Sustainable Tourism*, which was presented to the Governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea in 2007, has apparently been ignored. The plan is ‘…particularly concerned with providing for the social and economic development of communities living on and around the track, the protection of the cultural and military heritage and the conservation of the natural environment through which the track passes’. A key recommendation, with supporting strategies, is to identify, preserve and promote the military heritage values of the trail, including the development of interpretive memorials at significant locations.
The plan is based the findings of a series of workshops conducted with key stakeholders, including trekking operators, local communities and Australian and PNG government and non-government agencies. Workshop facilitators and contributors included people who understood the PNG culture intimately and who were highly qualified in military history, conservation, business and tourism. Each community along the trail was engaged in the development of supporting one- and five-year plans. Meanwhile, opportunity has been lost and time wasted through ‘re-inventing the wheel’ in the form of numerous and wasteful (on-going) consultancies, studies and investigations.
Decisive action is needed now to ensure that the Kokoda Trail is recognised first and foremost as a military heritage (if not sacred) site, that the expectations of trekkers are met, and that local communities start to see some of the social and economic benefits promised, but denied them. The protection of the environment through which the trail passes is inherent in sustainable tourism. We certainly don’t need a World Heritage listing to achieve this.
* Eco-trekking Kokoda – A Plan for Sustainable Tourism (Draft) June 2006
Hi Charlie,
The reason I trekked the Kokoda Trail is because both my grandfathers fought in New Guinnea. I wanted to experience part of what they did, and get some kind of understanding of what they went through protecting our country as neither of them would speak of it.
I treasure our Australian military history and think it should be protected at all costs.
I have been to several overseas sites including Gallipoli, Dunkirk, Normandy, etc. and felt that the Kokoda trek has really made a big impact on my life and the way I view things.
I cannot believe that the Australian governments over time have not done more to protect and promote this valuable Australian heritage.
I fully support the need to help transfer responsibility for the Kokoda Trail to the Australian War Graves Commission in The Department of Veterans Affairs.
Regards,
Andrew Connors
Hi Charlie
Thanks for providing me the opportunity to comment. I can,t believe the Rudd Gov has caved into the Green peril , yet once again .
The Kokoda Trail must be preserved at all costs,as it is so much a part
of our military past &‘ heritage’.
Without offering further comment ,I agree with many of the arguments expressed by other correspodents to this Blog highlighting the key points as to why this must be revisited by the Gov.
I totally support your move to have the Australian War Graves Commission manage the heritage of the Kokoda Trail
Keep up the fight Charlie … Individuals can make a difference
All the Best .
Kerry Phelan
Vietnam Veteran
Dear Major
What the? So some tree huggers are going around trying to claim Kokoda as a world heritage site? Dont they have any respect for military memorials? I’ll be damned if they start building bridges to cross Kokoda and not have a treker traverse its muddy paths. I’ll be damned if while future generations look at Kokoda with there eyes from a built observation area, they find it hard when its been covered with forest growth instead of footprints. And i’ll be damned if trekkers tell there freinds they went on Kokoda when they actually just followed it on a bridge having placed not one foot on the trek itself.
I walked it in 07. I got the best experience of my life! It was hard, it was dirty, but I loved every bit of it! It was worth it!
Theres plenty of tracks and trees that those environmentalists can hug. Why Kokoda? Whats placing world heritage sticker on the track going to do for them? Just watch as Kokoda fades away? We lost the Golden Stairs, we CANT lose the entire Trek!
“For your today, we gave our tomorrow.”
And our today is thinking of distorting the memory of our diggers. Dont let them!
Tell them to go on the track. Its a part (a major part) of Australias history. I agree with you all the way!
Scott Jackson
Trekker, 07
I fully support your logic of the track being important for military history not as a world heritage sight which is inappropriate. I walked the track in recognition of the fallen Australian soldiers who fought a legendary conflict to protect Australia. After walking the track you are filled with total admiration and pride for those soldiers and for your country. The track must be preserved for future generations of Australians to experience 1st hand our proud military heritage. This conflict was of particular significance as it was in direct protection of Australia’s shores which were under serious threat from the Japanese.
Well written, Charlie. How can the Kokoda Trail be anything but a Military Heritage listed loacation? I can understand why some of the powers that be would want it listed as World Heritage as it is a special place. But the reason it is so special to most Australians is not the jungles, the mountain ranges or the beautiful moss forest. It is the events in 1942/43, the sacrifice, bravery and triumph in the face of overwhelming odds that make it worthy of Military Heritage listing. Let this place be remembered as a significant part of our military history.
My personal reasons for walking the trail was mainly due to finding inspiration after reading what our diggers did in their valiant defense of our country. I wanted to tread in their footsteps and bring to life the stories that I had found so uplifting. I was motivated by the physical challenge as well thinking this would be good to wok towards in terms of fitness and then this coupled with the knowledge I had gained on the journey would make for a lifetime experience. I wasn’t disappointed.
I chose Adventure Kokoda because of their focus on the military history of the trail and was excited by the prospect of hearing the stories of the diggers as we journeyed. I believe that few would remain unmoved by the wonderful dawn service at Isurava after the mateship of the journey to that point. To do so without an understanding of what had unfolded there would similar to picking flowers in the poppy fields of france. Few I believe would ever go to Gallipoli for the view or to sunbathe on the beach. It’s a site of military significance, likewise Kokoda remains an important part of our military history and I think that preserving it that way doesn’t glorify war, but instead reminds us of our heritage as a nation.
Our diggers gave everything they had, it’s the least we can do to honour their memory.
It is interesting to note that Charlie Lynn has once again opened up the debate on the politics of the Kokoda Track. As the owner of a successful trekking company and as an early operator on the Track, together with such individuals as Clive Baker, Frank Taylor and Ruth Dicker, he is well qualified to make such comments.
In the interests of accuracy, I do believe his comments regarding the operation of the Kokoda Track Authority do require some qualification. An organization that Charlie criticizes as previously “being inexperienced and unqualified” and states that he watched while it, “morphed into a self-indulgent system of self-corruption”.
Charlie was one of the major driving forces behind the establishment of the original KTA, despite objections at the time from several parties, including some trekking companies, who were concerned that this would just create another vehicle for corruption in PNG. Unfortunately for the trekking industry and for the people of the Track this proved to be correct. Charlie was also a vocal supporter in the advancement of two of the more capable members of the previous board of the KTA who ultimately, allegedly, were substantially involved in corrupt activities. Charlie of course, could not of known that this would eventuate, but his initial support of these individuals and of the KTA itself is well known. Charlie is not responsible for the actions and demise of the previous board of the KTA, but his inference that he watched on the sidelines without any involvement, while the KTA degenerated, is incorrect.
The manager of Charlie’s logistics operations in PNG, until recently was also the CEO of the KTA. This very dedicated individual was above reproach and worked tirelessly, but without success and little support, to develop the KTA into a functional body. The fact that he concurrently held senior positions within Adventure Kokoda and the KTA did however create an atmosphere of mistrust between the organization and other trekking companies and with elements of the local population.
I am also mystified by Charlie’s negative comments regarding the potential for the Kokoda Track region to be given world heritage listing. In every conversation I have had with Charlie on this subject, he has always been extremely pro-listing. Not only for the obvious environmental benefits for the area but also for the morale of the local and greater PNG population in belonging to a place recognized throughout the world as being unique. As the founding Chairman of the Kokoda Track Foundation, Charlie enlisted the help of Dr Stephen Wearing of the University of Technology, Sydney and Paul Chatterton from WWF, with one of the aims being to explore the possibility of World Heritage Listing for the Track. This was discussed at Foundation board meetings and at various Foundation workshops. If Charlie has stopped supporting this concept, I would like to know the reasons why.
Charlie complains, with justification, about the lack of systems and structures in place to facilitate the ever-increasing numbers of trekkers. These systems should be created with the aim of maximum participation from various independent trekking companies, especially PNG indigenous companies and not to create something approximating an Australian owned monopoly or duopoly. Many of these systems could have been already worked out on a collaborative basis between the major trekking companies, given that they have had the opportunity to learn from mistakes already made in other regions of the globe. It has been a personal disappointment to me that Adventure Kokoda has not taken a positive leadership role in this area. It is about time that those who gain the most financially from the increased number of trekkers, put their hands up for the responsibility that goes with that. If trekking companies are unwilling to do this, they cannot complain if government departments struggle with the process. The establishment of the Kokoda Ethics committee for trekking companies under the stewardship of Aiden Grimes is a positive first step in reversing this process.
Having walked the Track for the past 15 years, (mostly with Adventure Kokoda) and having watched the trekking industry evolve from a hobby industry into a major revenue raiser and employer, I have noticed with alarm the environmental degradation and some negative social impacts on the local population through the explosion in the trekking industry. In my opinion, the threats to the natural environment and the social fabric of the local villagers are the two greatest threats facing the continuing significance of the Kokoda Track as a place where people can walk through history.
Could the Dept. of the Environment have done things better? Possibly yes, but the enormity of their task should not be underestimated and the level of commitment shown by the individuals in the department cannot be questioned. The Department requires and has requested, submissions from all Kokoda Track stakeholders and constructive criticism of their process would be more beneficial then public, negative carping.
Should other government departments be involved and should there be more memorials of the appropriate size and nature? Most probably, but I would feel very uncomfortable trekking between multi million dollar memorials through a ravaged natural landscape, inhabited by a disaffected, uneducated population whose children die from preventable diseases.
When I first met the veterans of the Kokoda Track, the overwhelming fear of these old warriors was that their young mates who did not come home would be forgotten. Through joint efforts across varying levels of society, “Kokoda” is now an instantly recognisable word in modern day Australia. 6000 people a year leave the Track having connected with part of their nations history and continuing a legacy established by those diggers of 67years ago. Any debate surrounding this icon deserves to be conducted in a manner that is factually accurate.
Refusing to be part of a cooperative trekking industry, politicizing important issues for another agenda, and rewriting history for self-interest is not a solution, but indeed a major part of the problem!
Paul Croll.
Trek Operator. Former Trek Leader with Adventure Kokoda. Former Board Member of the Kokoda Track Foundation.
Paul Croll is correct in his assertion that I initiated the idea of a management authority for the Kokoda Trail. My motivation was based on my experiences in PNG since I first visited the country in 1979. Since then I have led numerous expeditions across the Kokoda Trail; climbed Mt Wilhelm twice; and visited Port Moresby on many occasions. During this time the Kokoda Trail was ‘closed’ at regular intervals as local landowners expressed their frustrations by demanding compensation from the Australian Government, the PNG Government, and trekkers. Closing the track was the only option they had to express their grievances.
I suggested that a management authority be established to collect a trek fee of A$100 from each trekker. The objective was to create a fund that would allow villagers to receive shared benefits from the emerging trekking industry. I also believed that villagers along the track needed to have a voice through representation on the organisation.
I worked with the PNG Minister for Inter-Government Relations, The Hon Sir Peter Barter, and the Australian High Commissioner, H.E. Michael Potts, to help establish what was to become The Kokoda Track Authority (KTA). My role in this regard was acknowledged by Sir Peter Barter who wrote:
“Without Charlie Lynn’s dedication to the people of the Kokoda Trail, and Papua New Guinea in general, and his assistance in early negotiations in the establishment of the Authority, the establishment of the Kokoda Track Authority and its future plans for assisting the sustainability of the Kokoda Track Tourism Strategy and its heritage, there would be no special purposes authority – it would still be sitting in limbo.”
The new Board included representatives from the Koiari and Kokoda Local Level Government Authorities who I had worked with for a number of years. They were recognised community leaders and took their responsibilities seriously in the early stages. They participated in awareness patrols across the track, village workshops, and meetings with local landowners and other stakeholders.
Unfortunately the new Directors were not qualified to meet their corporate governance responsibilities. I brought this to the attention of both the Australian and PNG government representatives at the time but there was no will to do anything about it.
The financial integrity of the KTA was compromised from the start. Directors were not aware of their corporate responsibilities, there was no oversight body identified, no effective audit processes put in place, and no threat of enforcement. The authority was ripe for exploitation and we failed them.
Mr Warren Bartlett, a former Kiap (Australian Patrol Officer) who had worked in PNG for 40 years, was appointed as Interim Executive Officer of the KTA by the new Board at their first meeting in May, 2004. The appointment was approved by the Minister and his Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs. His salary was $12,000 per annum which had to be paid from trek fee income because no funding was made available by the PNG Government to cover administrative costs of KTA operations.
For a considerable time Mr Bartlett was hampered by the fact that he had no office, no staff and no overtime entitlement! Fortunately he was well aware of the shortcomings of ‘the system’ and, to his great credit, he applied himself to the task on a 24/7 basis.
Mr Bartlett continued as the Interim CEO until the PNG and Australian Governments signed a ‘Joint Understanding on 23 April, 2008.
I am not aware of any trekking company expressing concern that the new KTA ‘would just create another vehicle for corruption in PNG’ as asserted by Paul Croll. I would be happy to correct the record in this regard if Paul can produce any evidence to the contrary. I know that some were concerned at the prospect of having to pay trek fees in the early stages but they soon got over it.
The claim that Mr Bartlett ‘concurrently held senior positions within Adventure Kokoda and the KTA’ is a fabrication. Mr Bartlett’s company, Sogeri Enterprises Limited, provides in-country logistic support for Adventure Kokoda on a contract basis. I believe all Australian trek operators have similar arrangements with a PNG based company for the provision of in-country logistical support.
Adventure Kokoda developed an agreement with a Koiari leader, Mr Alex Rama of Naduri Village, in conjunction with Sogeri Enterprises, to provide guides and carriers to support our treks. We have provided training assistance to Alex and his guides and carriers to support our treks. Each of our trek groups now has a PNG Trek Leader, a Trek 2IC, a head cook, a cook’s assistant and a trek medic. Our guides are organised into teams (scouts, campsite preparation, trekker support) and they receive different rates of pay according to their position of responsibility. All are issued with trek uniforms, sleeping bags, sleeping mats and they receive fresh meals during their treks.
Paul also seems confused with my stance on a World Heritage listing for the Kokoda Trail.
It is matter of record that I have always believed the Kokoda Trail should be protected from potential threats such as mining, forestry, and environmental degradation. The most effective way to achieve this is to provide local villagers, who live in a subsistence environment, with opportunities for a sustainable alternative source of income.
In 1994 I produced a proposal for the Kokoda Trail to be proclaimed a National Memorial Park to begin the process of protecting the asset by developing a sustainable trekking industry based on the Kokoda campaign.
In 2002 I submitted a nomination to the Australian Heritage Commission for the Kokoda Trail in to be registered as a place on our National Estate that has special historical significance for future generations as well as the present community in accordance with the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975. This was approved by the Australian Government and proclaimed by the Minister for the Environment, The Hon Malcolm Turnbull on 10 August 2007.
I then enlisted the support of Kelvin Templeton, of Templeton-Galt, to develop a Strategic Plan for the Kokoda Trail. Templeton-Galt engaged Dr Stephen Wearing of the University of Technology Sydney, Mr Paul Chatterton of the World Wide Fund for Nature, and Colonel David Knaggs of Davendish Management Consulting to assist in the process. Kelvin provided the intellectual leadership and guidance to bring it to fruition. They were an outstanding team and the result provides a blueprint for a sustainable trekking industry along the Kokoda Trail and a model for similar enterprises throughout PNG.
Adventure Kokoda was recently involved in each stage of the development and adoption of a Code of Conduct for trek operators. More recently I participated in a special trek operators’ forum facilitated by PNG Tourism in Brisbane. I believe these initiatives will result in positive outcomes for both the KTA and trek operators. We will continue to be involved in the process.
I have certainly raised my concerns about the lack of proper management processes for the track in the past and will continue to do so until we have effective systems in place.
I share Paul’s concerns in regard to the ‘threats to the natural environment and the social fabric of local villagers’. These were addressed in the strategic plan I initiated in 2004 when I was Chairman of the Kokoda Track Foundation. It is regrettable that neither the Foundation nor the Government have facilitated any follow up workshops since I resigned as Chairman in 2006.
Paul’s assertion that the Department of Environment ‘requires and has requested, submissions from all Kokoda Track stakeholders’, is also a fabrication. Adventure Kokoda has never received a request for a ‘submission’ from the Department on any issue. I have been advised that other trek operators had also been kept out of the loop. Our concerns were raised at the recent Trek Operators Forum in Brisbane and I am hopeful the ongoing process will be more inclusive.
Paul’s concern about ‘trekking between multi-million dollar memorials through a ravaged natural landscape, inhabited by a disaffected, uneducated population whose children die from preventable diseases’ is odd. It certainly does not reflect the reality of the current situation along the Kokoda Trail which was recently described by Mrs Brenda Hammil, who first trekked with me in 1994 and again in April 2009. She wrote:
‘Charlie
‘I have to say how much, I again, enjoyed the journey.
‘ It was much harder than I remember but, it’s fifteen years ago so, that must make me fifteen years older and the trail is fifty per cent longer!! Does that mean more hills?
‘Firstly ( I know I’ve said this to you but, it’s nice to put things in writing ) I was surprised and pleased to see both the adults and children along the way looking so much healthier…the villages looked more prosperous…that I’m sure is because of your efforts and is due to among other things, the number of people you are employing as porters, cooks etc.
‘I thought the Isurava Memorial was truly beautiful…such a fabulous setting looking down the valley and so, so serene…your service was very moving and the porters sang like angels!
‘After such a wonderful service at Isurava I was a little disappointed with the Bomana service….maybe I was just tired!! However, it is hard to compare with our own service in Martin Place.
‘ I was also pleased to hear that your appeals have been listened to and Rudd is at long last awarding Medals to the Fuzzy Wuzzies.’
Paul’s reference to the Koiari and Orokaiva villagers as ‘uneducated’ is patronising and demeaning. The current Chairman of the KTA, Mr James Enagi is a Mountain Koiari from Efogi village. He is 30 years of age, has a university degree, and worked in Prime Minister Somare’s office prior to his appointment as Chairman of the KTA. He is intelligent, articulate and a natural leader of his people.
I cannot understand why Paul would not want to see appropriate battlesite memorials along the Kokoda Trail. I appreciate that some who have not served in our armed forces may not have such a strong empathy with our military history. However, whilst I respect their right to have more of an ‘environmental experience’, the vast majority of trekkers we have led across the trail (more than 5,000 since 1991) have a different view and would like to see each significant battlesite along the rail properly honoured.
My personal interest in Kokoda stems from my father’s service in New Guinea as an infantryman in WW11, and my own 21 years in the Australian Army. I regard the Kokoda Trail, between Owers Corner and Kokoda, as a jungle shrine. I would like to see interpretative memorials that are informative, commemorative, culturally sensitive, and compatible with the local environment.
My conviction for honouring Kokoda was reinforced with a letter I received from the late Lieutenant-Colonel Phil Rhoden OBE, Commanding Officer of the 2/14th Battalion, at the battle of Isurava. He wrote:
‘Charlie,
‘The veterans and I, in particular, are aware of your work over many years in you bringing the events in 1942 to the attention of all who would listen to you and some who would not and were it not for that persistence and endeavour of yours the words courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice would not be at Isurava for all to see.’
I acknowledge Paul’s suggestion that I take a leadership role in the development of the Kokoda Trail but I am not sure that I can do much more.
Our Strategic Plan for the Kokoda Trail was warmly welcomed by the Prime Minister, the Hon Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare, at a presentation in Port Moresby on 24 April 2007.
My proposal to have the Kokoda Trail proclaimed as a ‘Place of Significance to Australia’ was accepted by the Australian Government and gazetted on 10 August 2007.
My proposal to award a Civilian Service Medal to the PNG Wartime Carriers was accepted by the Australian Government and announced on 30 April 2009.
I understand my proposal for a ‘Kokoda Day’ to be proclaimed in honour of the New Guinea Wartime Carriers has been accepted by the PNG Government and will be announced shortly.
Over the past 18 years I have written extensively on the significance of the Kokoda Trail and our relationship with PNG. Some of my papers include:
http://www.kokodatreks.com/docs/KOKODAPROPOSALbyCharlieLynn.doc
http://niusleta.kokodatreks.com/documents/StrategicPlanfortheKokodaTrailNoPics_000.pdf
http://niusleta.kokodatreks.com/documents/ADiscussionPaperontheKokodaEcoTrekkingIndustryNoPics.pdf
http://niusleta.kokodatreks.com/009-MiningKokoda_February_2008.html
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2006/02/15/kokoda-a-neglected-jungle-shrine/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2007/01/10/png-%e2%80%93-a-difficult-place-to-help/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2008/06/27/png-carriers-deserve-a-medal/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2008/09/07/kokoda-more-than-a-jungle-track/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2008/06/28/military-heritage-at-risk-on-kokoda/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2009/05/14/the-kokoda-trail-villager/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2009/05/14/the-kokoda-trekker/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2009/05/20/kokoda-world-heritage-or-military-heritage/
If Paul’s concerns about ‘the threats to the natural environment and the social fabric of the local villagers’ are genuine I assume he has also made detailed submissions on the issues. I am happy to post any papers or proposals he might have made in this regard.
I will also post any other papers or submissions that Paul, or any other commentators have made in regard to the development of a sustainable Kokoda trekking industry based on the military significance of the Kokoda Trail and its cultural and environmental values.
Kokoda is much more than a trek to me. It is a journey that often creates a desire for trekkers to learn more about our military history, and about our closest neighbour – PNG.
This obviously leads to more discussion about our relationship with our closest neighbour, former mandated territory, wartime ally and fellow Commonwealth Member. I am currently researching a paper for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association titled ‘Papua New Guinea: Apathetic Past – Empathetic Future’. I have visited PNG on a number of occasions to meet with Ministers, Departmental Secretaries and community leaders in a number of Provinces to research the issues I believe we have to address.
I have also made a submission to the Australian Senate in support of obtaining access to seasonal work in Australian for PNG citizens. My submissions can be viewed at:
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2008/09/06/senate-submission-for-png-seasonal-workers/
http://blog.kokodatreks.com/2008/09/06/wouldnt-it-be-great-if/
Papua New Guinea has been described variously as a Parliament of a Thousand Tribes, the Land of the Unexpected, a Land of a Thousand Cultures, and so on. We will never understand the complex relationships between sorcerers, missionaries, luluais’, clan leaders, landowners, Local Level Government Councillors, Provincial and National Government Members. I do believe, however, that we can improve our relationships by working together to achieve agreed objectives that deliver shared sustainable benefits.
The Kokoda Trail provides a unique opportunity for us to develop a sustainable tourism model based on our shared military heritage.
That’s what I am about. That is what our company, Adventure Kokoda, is about.
The 84 comments above all reflect the same theme – frustration of not seeing anything practical achieved on the ground for all the vast amounts of money collected from trekkers. We can debate politics, feelings, perceptions and all the touchy feely stuff about who said what when, but the simple fact remains that the management of the Track is a shambles. The planned (or was it promised?) return of collected fees to the villagers simply hasn’t happened.
Trekkers who make unwise decisions to travel with unprofessional companies run the risk of serious injury or death. Others are rescued from deadly peril by the few professional trekking companies operating. Simple accreditation to professional standards would minimise this need.
Contrary to Paul Croll’s assertions, Adventure Kokoda leads in efforts to bring functional systems to the Track. The company uses a booking system for campsites, promulgated to the villagers months in advance. The company leads the effort, by fine example, for decent pay and conditions for PNG staff. Adventure Kokoda’s philanthropic endeavours on the Track are second to none.
Paul Croll accuses Charlie Lynn of “…rewriting history for self interest…” One wonders how Paul arrives at this conclusion bearing in mind that Paul has accompanied Charlie on many of his early exploration trips, and was happy enough to have his photo published in Patrick Lindsay’s book “Spirit of Kokoda”, which describes the rediscovery of the Isurava battlesite, with Charlie.
Throwing stones at each other will not achieve a useful outcome – we need results on the ground in PNG for the safety of trekkers on the Track, and thereby the well being of the PNG people. Yes PNG is a tough place in which to get things done, but perseverance with a simple achievable plan will get the results.
Paul Croll’s contribution, while barely concealing the angst of a previous split, is an important counterpoint to Charlie’s passionate presentation. Many of us who have trekked are uncomfortable with the “Australianisation” of the Track. It is, despite the military significance and the sacrifice, not our country. It has become a political football as well as a bone of jealousy between the different trekking companies, which often results in unfair criticisms of those who bring the unique experience to patriotic Australians. We all walk for personal reasons, none of which is more important than the other.
The War Graves Commission seems to me to have a significant presence in PNG, as it does all over the world. Indeed the Bomana site is as sacred as any at Gallipolli or in Europe. Should they really have responsibility for the track as a whole, as well as the memorial sites? I think not.
I think a deep breath is required. There is, after all, a valid explanation for most decisions, just as there is a host of differing opinions which will criticise those decisions. Representations have to be made by all means, and criticisms offered, but I can’t imagine K. Rudd, or J. Hockey not having the same passion for the place as have all of us who have made the trek.
Email post from Jason Reddick:
Hi Charilie,
I walked Kokoda with a mate in the first week of October 2008.
Initially, our motivation to undertake the trip was purely as a physical challenge. As retired footballers (AFL code) we were each nearly 40 years old so we saw this as a challenging task that we could complete together. I’ve done plenty of overnight hikes and camping in the Victorian Alps around Mt Bogong and Mt Hotham with another mate, so the outdoors/nature aspect was also appealing.
In readiness for the trail I read a couple of books on it (Peter Fitsimmons book and the Trekkers Guide) and I spoke with a number of friends who had previously walked the track to gleen information from them. I had heard the stories of how emotional the dawn service is at Isurava but I paid little credence to them as I thought they were exagerrated and I wouldn’t be as effected.
I did, however, find the stories and information on the war efforts of the Australians truly remarkable. After completing both books, I was amazed at why I had previously not known much of that campaign despite having done 2 years of Australian history as a secondary student! I continually remarked to people that the Kokoda war efforts should be given more prominence in the education of our school children and the general community, who only really hear about Gallipoli (not to downgrade the significance of that campaign but to give a more equal exposure to the two efforts ) .
When undertaking the trek (along the trail !) the stories in the books become frighteningly realistic and the realisation and appreciation of what the diggers actually encountered became overwhelmingly powerful. The old adage of “you dont know what it’s like to be someone until you take a walk in their shoes”‘ certainly applied to this (though I’m forever grateful that we weren’t using hobnail boots!). The enormity of their situation really hit home with me when you compared your own struggles along the trail using the latest technology in hiking boots, clothing, medication, tents, plentiful food supplies, and clear campsites against the primitive resources and heavy packs/ammunition carried by the soldiers. And that was even before you considered the fight with a highly trained ruthless enemy that outnumbered you in their thousands!
So after 6 days of climbing the trail, I stood tall and proud at Ishurava as a patriotic Australian in front of the 4 wonderful pillars, with only thoughts of thanks for the sacrifices made by those young diggers so that we have the life that we are able to live, whilst crocodile tears poured down my face!
Long may others share in the same experience!
Cheers
Jason
______________________________________________
Jason Reddick
Chief Financial Officer
Carlton Football Club
email post by Peter Burrows:
Hi Charlie,
I had the pleasure of walking the Track with Chad as our leader, just over 12 months ago.
I walked the track, not only the say I had walked it, but also from the military aspect of what happen & where and what the Australian forces had to endure.
As you well know, Chad’s detail of the military history was very informative.
I would certainly advocate the priority of the Track as being military heritage.
Regards,
Peter Burrows
QLD Training & Business Support Officer – Landmark
email post by Allen Owen:
Dear Charlie,
You have asked why I walked the Kokoda Trail. You may remember I have walked the Trail twice now, first in 1992 on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Isurava, and again last year with one of my sons to see the memorial at Isurava. The reason for my interest in the Trail is that my father fought in the Battle of Isurava. Dad served in the 2/14th Battalion and I think this battle is one of the major battles in our military history. As a result of my experience, I most certainly agree that the military heritage of the track should be accorded a higher priority than it currently has in the Joint Understanding.
Regards,
Allan
email post from Tim Farley:
Charlie,
The main reason I became interested was because of the programme I saw on Compass a couple of years ago. I felt like the young Muslim man who burnt the flag that I did not know enough of the courage and suffering of the young men who gave their all for their country.
Having completed the track with your company and tour leader Simon Hart I feel so much more proud to be an Australian and so much more gratefull for the willing sacrifice the Militia and Aif forces gave for their country and the protection of their loved ones.
” I came to walk Kokoda Track
To test myself for sure
But more to see what the Diggers did
To make our Land secure”
I think that the suggestion you have made for the change in management of the Kokoda is most appropriate and would serve the intersts of Australians and Papuans far better.
Regards
Tim Farley
email post from Rick Cumming:
Charlie,
For the most please accept my late reply as I have been overseas and working away and as such have not got to reply. Now to may be a brief reply but I hope may add some enhancement to your cause.
Firstly I trekked the trail to re intact the hardships faced by our past diggers.
I also wanted to identify first hand the battle fields where so many lost their lives and saved us.
Another issues was that I wanted to understand why the trail had been let down by our Governments and not have the heritage fully remembered or monuments errected.
It was also a chance to show some young off the rails lads the train and understand what the four most precious words Courage Mate ship Endurance & Sacrifice mean.
If these four words were to be actioned by our Government the future of the trail would be safe.
email post from Dr Susan Allman:
Hi Charlie,
Why did I do it?? I started reading books about the Kokoda track to try and find out about the Doctors with the troops and what they did and how they coped on the ground.
I read Peter Bune “A Bastard of a Place” and the Paul Ham “Kokoda” and then Peter Fitzimmons “Kokoda ‘ and at that point I said to myself-.
“Damn-why didn’t we learn this in History at School ?!!! ‘
A group of Australian Soldiers including a large number of 17 year old Reservists managed to turn back the Japanese crack jungle troops for the first time in the war and they have had virtually nil public acknowledgement before the late 90s. The chocolate soldiers embody the true australian ethos in my view-which is:-
Just because it wasn’t your original job description you rise to the occasion and use your Aussie adaptability and practical nouse, work a new plan and just get on with it with determination.
The sacrifices and the sufferring of the troops on the track are more real to me as a Doctor. I have more understanding of the impact of injury and disease on the human body. I suppose that because of this my emotional reaction was more profound, although my brother Jim, an architect also reacted in the same way. We felt strongly that we needed to walk the track in reality to bring the words in the books to life and also as an act of gratitude to those men who probably saved us from a Japanese Eastern seaboard invasion and a Nanking massacre of our families.
The amazing contribution of unsung Commanders like Colonel Potts and their ability to stick to the plan they knew provided the only glimmer of success astounded me.It reasured me that Australian leaders can have great moral stamina and sacrifice self interest entirely. Their actions virtually signed their death warrants as far as promotion or public aclaim within the army ranks, but as in so many similar situations it brought them great love and admiration from the men they commanded.
To suffer personally on the Track is the ultimate way to honour and acknowledge those men-why? I’m not sure , but it just is.
Suzie Turner aka Dr Susan Allman
email post from Barry Shepherd:
Charlie,
Just a short note in response – I did the trek on the Trail for the challenge firstly, as the group of friends we travelled with were looking for a challenge and when we researched the background we became more interested in the military importance and significance to Australian history. It was important to us to blend the physical challenge and understanding of degrees of difficulty with the important military significance and battles of this campaign – some of the memorials created a surreal atmosphere and made us awestruck at the achievements of our forebears. To think that these young men had little training and achieved so much against a well drilled and experienced foe in extremely rugged conditions was something that we all appreciated. The military history and commentary for both sides as outlined by John at various locations along the Trail reinforced the military significance of the experience. It’s not just the environmental significance of PGN but the inextricable link to a significant military campaign which you appreciate more as you slog along the Trail. You appreciate the effort, courage, discipline, mateship and raw toughness mixed in with some obvious skill which must have branded these soldiers as heroes. Certainly Kokoda should be listed as one of the great battles and we are lucky it took place in PNG and not Australia. It would not be fair to not mention the support by PNG and their Fuzzy Wuzzies – true heroes as well and with little recognition too late. But I guess better late than never. I support your efforts in recognising the Kokoda Trail as a theatre of Military heritage significance to Australia and the World.
Regards,
Barry Shepherd
email post from Kathie Collins OAM:
Hello Charlie,
Many thanks for contacting me regarding the Kokoda track.
Trekking the Track was one of the most important things I have done in my life. It has been at the back of my mind ever since I met Joe Dawson who is my friend, Leigh’s father.
Having heard of his involvement I read up on the history and wrote my Anzac Day essay based on Kokoda. Even as a young school student I realised the significance of what the Australians did and wondered then why their actions were not celebrated as were those of the soldiers who died at Gallipoli.
It was not until about 2004 that I decided to trek the Kokoda Track 2006 saw me at a stage where I thought I could attempt it. My aim was to relive the story and cover the ground that the soldiers had covered. I will always remember a returned soldier saying to me, “Kathie, when you are up there, think of us pushing a twenty-five pounder”
I was happy to have porters carry all my gear. I have no idea how the Australians survived the ordeal in 1942. I can guess that, as young as they were, they realised that if they failed, Australia would be invaded.
You are quite right, Charlie. the Australian War Graves Commission should have carriage of input into the future of the Track if Australians are to have any say.
I am very much aware of the limitations of our input but we have been successful in so many other places.
The war Graves Commission could have input from the environmentalists. The important thing is to have it recognised as Military heritage. There is no reason why we cannot also ensure that it is respected for environmental value.
I could say a lot more but will leave it at that.
Best wishes,
Kathie Collins OAM
email post from Karen Robertson:
Dear Charlie,
In answer to your question as to why I walked the Kokoda trail. For 11 of the hardest and most rewarding days of my life I was able to walk in the footsteps of true Australian heros, and for that privilege I will always be grateful. Yes the track should be given top priority.
Karen
email post from Paddy Ryan:
Charlie,
I did it for the historical significance to Aust. The lack of significance placed on this battle is confounding, to say the least.
It is akin to the cover up of the bombing of Darwin.
I place more significance on Kokoda than Gallipoli. One battle was about Aust & the other was about the UK.
We are Aussie??
Paddy Ryan
________________________________________
email post from John Lloyd:
Charlie,
I am walking the track in memory of my father who was one of the 39th Militia (B Coy 12 Platoon 1st across the track and the 1st to engage the enemy). The Kokoda Trail (Track) should be afforded the same military recognition as Anzac Cove and not World Heritage listed!
I would be totally behind your approach as would the 39th Battalion Association.
I also think (no matter how you feel about the Japanese) that the Japanese Government of today would like the Kokoda Trail also list for its military history due to the number of their war dead still entombed along the Track.
Regards,
John Lloyd
Son of Cpl Irvine Francis (Jack) Lloyd – (now deceased)
email post from Hugh Mclaurin:
Dear Charlie,
I am in complete agreement with you. as beautiful an asset the kokoda trail is in an environmental sense I feel it holds more meaning as a historical military site.
The reason I completed kokoda was because of what it means to all australians as the soil which so many of our soldiers fought on to ensure the safety of the autralian nation.
in particular I was anxious to do it as I have a great uncle who fought there as a “choco soldier and that instils an amazing sense of pride for me.
Kokoda for me was an incredible experience. To be subjected to such a beautiful culture was truly a gift, but to know that I struggled to cover the same ground as many of our courageous ancestors was so fulfilling for me and helped me to reconcile with their sacrifice.”
Regards,
Hugh
email post from Matt McLellan:
Charlie,
I did the trek due to the military heritage; the physical challenge was certainly an attraction but that is tied in to the military side. I wouldn’t have had the interest in doing the trek if it wasn’t such an important part of our history.
Looking at the state of the Bomana cemetery I am sure that the War graves Commission would do a splendid job – great idea.
Matt
email post from Paul Howison:
Hi Charlie,
I walked the track with 2 of my adult sons in August 2007. There are 4 reasons why I walked the track.
1 The significant military heritage & to gain a greater understanding of our war history.
2 To gain some appreciation of the landscape the diggers trekked & fought.
3 The physical challenge. I was still recovering from recent cancer treatment.
4 It gave me a unique experience to celebrate my 60th birthday on the track.
I have had the opportunity to visit Anzac Cove on Anzac Day in 2003 & view the wonderful work the Australian War Graves Commission has done.
In my opinion the Australian War Graves Commission must be assigned the responsibility for the track to ensure the Australian Military Heritage becomes the priority for such an important area of Australian & Papua & New Guinea history.
Kind Regards
In my opinion and speaking as a former Australian soldier who served with the now famous 39th Battalion, I must say that I believe that the Kokoda Track, as well as all other appropriate war battle sites, should be primarily viewed as Military Heritage sites. The environment is important but that is a much wider issue than this. Military Heritage can be preserved simply by maintaining these sites with respect and honour for those who fought and died on them during war time. If that is done in the proper manner then automatically the environment will be preserved. We in Victoria know only too well what happens when these environmental freaks take charge and as a result of their actions thousands of people are homeless and almost 200 have lost their lives. They have much tp answer for and I would hate to see this happen any where else in the world.
The governments of both Papua New Guinea and Australia must be pressured to the utmost to ensure that the real reason for our concern is not only recognised but also answered in an approprtiate way. Gallipoli has been preserved; Flanders sites are truly honoured and so must those of our nearest neighbours.
Hi Charlie
I walked the track in July 2004 & also explored Buna, Gona & Sannananda, since i was about 5 years old it had been a debt i needed to repay to the 2 young men whose photos adorned my Grandparents lounge room.
My Uncle Bill fought at Gona & Sannananda with the 36th Battalion and his younger brother Frank fought at Wau through to being wounded at Komiatum and later dying from wounds and sickness (he is at rest in Bomana).
You have my 100% backing to educate the Kaftan wearing, Mung Bean eating Pinko Grubs exactly who sacrificed their lives to give them their “FREEDOM”
Preserve the Kokoda Track as a memorial to our diggers and proceeds from trekkers to be distributed in the rightful percentages to the wonderful people of PNG.
Regards
Paul
Paul,
Whenever I get a response like this I picks meself up, dusts meself off, and says
to meself – OK mumblef#*kers – Kokoda’s all about our Diggers and their PNG Wartime Carriers. Do-gooders, basket-weavers, doctors’ wives and mung-bean munchers should now find their own utopia and drawback whoopee weed they might have otherwise inhaled!
I walked Kokoda in 2007 as a daughter of a veteran of the New Guinea campaign – not Kokoda, but Milne Bay, Goroka, Madang and surrounding areas. My father returned from the war suffering severe debilitating malaria for many years and then eventually died of a brain tumour in 1981, but he is not recognised as dying from a war-related condition as the type of brain tumour he had is not on the list of “accepted” war-related conditions so my mother gets no support at all from Veterans Affairs, so why then am I not surprised by the bureaucratic-riddled problems being experienced with the Kokoda track.
I attended the Anzac dawn service at Bomana in 2007 and was appalled at the lack of Australian government representation to commemorate those who fought for Australia in PNG. Gallipoli, the Somme, Villers-Bretonneux, etc. are revered (as they rightly should be), but PNG seems to be ignored – why? Is it not “fashionable” enough?
I am equally as appalled that the proceeds from Kokoda trekkers are not distributed as appropriate to the villagers along the track, many of whom are descendants of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who contributed significantly to the successful outcome of the PNG campaign.
I walked Kokoda to experience a little of what my father went through, to challenge myself and to gain a greater understanding of the military history along the track. Like many, I was not prepared for the emotion walking the track invoked and believe the experience was the most challenging, humbling and inspiring thing I have ever done.
I would not like to see the track turned into a sanitised trail; part of the challenge is to be placed out of your comfort zone – it’s good for the soul and really makes one appreciate the sacrifices others made so that we are able to reap the benefits.
I support Paul’s comments – preserve the Kokoda Track as a memorial to our diggers and proceeds from trekkers to be distributed in the rightful percentages to the wonderful people of PNG.
Chris
email post from Brian McBain:
Hi Charlie,
I trust you are well.
My motivation for walking the trail back in 93 was due to the military significance the trail held in the first instance, with the physical challenge being a natural part of that. I would of thought that the military significance would be the main driver of any “heritage” label that the govt may wish to place upon it, because without the military significance, it would be just another trail/track/trek somewhere in the world that presented a physical challenge.
The kokoda trail is no less signficant than any other theatre of war (more significant in a lot of cases), and I believe needs to be recognised as such.
Keep well,
Cheers for now,
Charlie,
I am a grandson of late Batia Oagi Lega of Efogi village.The first Koiarian Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel to be awarded a BEM medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for his war services as a carrier.
I support your contributions and the initiatives you have initiated over these years for the Fuzzy Wuzzy generations.
You have touched a lot of lives along the Kokoda track and left a legacy.The name “Charlie Lynn” or “Taubada” is a house-hold name.
All the best.
GN Batia
RPNGC
Special Services Division HQ
McGregor Barracks
Yes!
With one exception “experts from our War Memorial.” My recent experience shows there are few and the leadership of that place is only interested in maintaining the staus quo. What is needed are competent international personalities who owe loyalty to no particular polity.
Perhaps, second, is a need for HM QEII to recognise the native carriers and their families with a unit citation so that families might wear a decoration down through the generations, unlike what has been patronisingly handed from DVA.
Thanks for hosting the debate, we should hang our collective national heads in shame for being 67 years too late? How many have died whom served our Diggers?
jim