Wayne Wetherall – Kokoda Spirit Alert!

This paper exposes the evolution of Wayne Wetherall’s carefully crafted transition from an unknown suburban salesman without any military credentials to a self-proclaimed ‘world athletics champion‘, ‘explorer‘, ‘adventurer‘, ‘ historian‘, and ‘philanthropist.

It’s a compelling tale about ‘the man behind the myth‘ and a prescient warning to anybody considering any form of tour associated with Australia’s military history – particularly Kokoda, Sandakan, and Long Tan.

A review of Wetherall’s website claims since he first trekked across the Kokoda Trail in 2004 reveals that his reputation was built on a carefully crafted web of deception.

One of his former trek leaders, a decorated Vietnam Veteran, was the first to expose his flawed character back in 2011:

‘My anecdotal-based overview of WW, gained inter alia, from a number of reputable sources whose opinion and judgement I would trust, and over the past seven years, is that he is a bullshit merchant of some standing, whose principal position in life seems to be based on a carefully planned programme of self-aggrandisement and self-promotion. Notwithstanding his clever self-marketing skills, his trekking “exploits” both on and off the Track appears to me to lack any real credibility, He seems somehow to survive on a predetermined network of manipulative exploitation of, at best, half-truths, something akin to a shonky second-hand car salesman!!’[i]

A four-day hearing in the Queensland Industrial Commission in 2021 exposed the dark side of his flawed character when it was revealed he had:

bullied and harassed his female staff;
stalked vulnerable female trekkers;
coerced one into having group sex with his mates;
traded sexual favours with his female staffer in Port Moresby;
fathered an illegitimate child in PNG;
engaged in group sex with other men; and
exploited his PNG guides and porters.

According to two former female employees he displayed the traits of a narcissist with his self-centred, arrogant thinking and behaviour, a lack of empathy and consideration for others, and an excessive need for admiration.

He had an abundance of charm when he was in sales mode but would react with rage if his self-image was ever threatened or his views ever challenged.

He was an early practitioner of ‘click-bait marketing’ on social media platforms. He was quick to realise most prospective trekkers knew little about military history and even less about Papua New Guinea and trekking. This allowed him to make false claims and simply move on whenever they were exposed.

Wetherall’s first venture into PNG ended in tragedy after four Israelis were drowned on one of his whitewater rafting ventures.

He then turned his mind to creating a false persona to capitalise on the business opportunities presented by the emerging interest in trekking across the Kokoda Trail.

Wetherall initially built his ‘Kokoda’ reputation on claims of holding a world athletic record, an Australian athletics record, four NSW State records, a Trans-Tasman athletics championship; and 26 New South Wales athletic championships.

When these claims were challenged, he simply removed them from his website – and he moved on!

He then advised of the imminent arrival of his Kokoda Spirit book ‘In the footsteps of Hero’s-In the foot of my Brothers’ in 2006 to establish a false illusion of his military credentials. The book was never published. The announcement was eventually removed from his website after it had served its purpose – and he moved on!

To enhance his credibility with the veteran community he claimed to have assisted in ‘opening up’ Long Tan in Vietnam. He seemed to be unaware this had been achieved by the 6^th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment in 1969 when he was just four years of age – when this claim was challenged it was removed it from his website – and he moved on!

He then claimed to have established a ‘Spirit Foundation’ to support noble philanthropic ventures in PNG – when it was revealed no such foundation existed, he removed the claim from his website – and he moved on!

Over the next few years he went on to make spurious claims to have rediscovered Kokoda’s Forgotten Battlefields (which have never been forgotten) to enhance his status as a historian, and to have ‘discovered’ original sections of the trail to enhance his ‘explorer’ status. After it was revealed these claims could not be validated – he moved on!

Wetherall’s aggressive click-bait marketing strategies paid handsome dividends as Kokoda Spirit emerged as the leading tour company on the Kokoda Trail.

The internet archive ‘Wayback Machine’ provides a paper trail which tracks the evolution of Wayne Wetherall from an unknown suburban salesman to an international ‘adventurer’, ‘explorer’, ‘historian‘ and ‘philanthropist’ which exposes the character of ‘the man behind the myth’. His journey is detailed in the following paper: ‘Wayne Wetherall – the Anithesis of the Kokoda Spirit’.