I know I’m old school – a boomer from a different era who grew up surrounded by men who had fought in two World Wars and survived the adversity of a great depression.

Over the years I have listened to great speeches from ordinary men such as the late Sergeant Stan Bryant over the years:

“I say to all you people were today.  To you who are responsible for governing this country, to all who hold positions of leadership in the community, to all Australians.  It is from the men we honour today that you inherited this land. These were the men who helped build this nation.  They were the ones associated with the building of our harbours and our bridges.  They sealed the roads across the black soil planes, and they built the railways across Australia.  Then they fought off the Japanese invasion so that you could inherit this country. You now have the fruits of our labours.  The cities and the harbours and the plains are yours.  We few survivors are aged and can only look on with pride and wish you success in the future. But we do charge you, to accept the responsibility of your inheritance and nourish and guard them with care. And remember always, the men of the Eighth Australian Division and the two ships who stood between the Japanese invasion and Australia.  They paid the price of your future.  Only they know the real cost. And remember – remember – we solemnly promised God that we would never forget!

So, when I led my first group across the Kokoda Trail in 1992, I naturally expected we would receive support for the identification, interpretation and protection of the military heritage of a place sacred to our wartime memory.

I worked on the assumption this would be a given and that the information we provided as our knowledge increased would be appreciated.

I also thought the ‘Yes Minister’ television series was a comedy – until Canberra environment officials took control of the Trail more than a decade ago – I just had to pen a few words about my revelation on this link:

Yes Minister – alive on Kokoda!

And now the Trail, which has emerged as PNGs most popular tourism destination, has been shut down as the result of Canberra’s intervention wayback I thought it might be timely to tell the story of a foot-soldiers experiences over the past 33 years . . .

Kokoda Trail Key Points:

  • The name of the Battle Honour awarded to the Papuan Infantry Battalion by the Commonwealth Battles Nomenclature Committee in 1953 was ‘Kokoda Trail’.
  • The name ‘Kokoda Trail’ was gazetted by the PNG Government in the lead-up to Independence in 1972
  • The 138 km Kokoda Trail was gazetted with a 10m-wide reserve either side along its length in 1972.
  • The military history of the Kokoda campaign is the key drawcard for Australian trekkers.
  • The Kokoda Trail is PNGs most popular tourism destination generating an estimated K50 million for the PNG economy each year.
  • The Australian government engaged the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra to identify traditional landowners but the task was too complex for an accurate resolution.
  • There is provision for the PNG Government to acquire the land gazetted in 1972 under the Land Act 1996 and the Lands Acquisition (Development Purposes) Act 1974
  • Compensation for any such acquisition of the gazetted reserve should be in the form of tourism infrastructure which will create a sustainable economic future for traditional landowner communities.

Relevant Links: