A Chronicle of our Kokoda Journey: 1991-2024

‘Over the past 33 years I have led 100 expeditions across the Kokoda Trail.

‘During this time, I travelled to Canberra to brief a Prime Minister, eight Veterans Affairs Ministers and three Ministers for International Aid and the Pacific on the need to protect our shared military heritage across the Kokoda Trail.

‘Apart from my meeting with Prime Minister John Howard who later commissioned the Isurava Memorial for the 60th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign – there were no other outcomes.

‘We have also submitted numerous papers with suggestions for improving the management of Kokoda pilgrimage tourism – these were based on the collective experience of our trek leaders who have a combined total of 160 years professional military experience and who have led more than 650 expeditions across the Trail over the past 33 years – all were ignored by government officials in Canberra and Port Moresby.

‘It is instructive that since Canberra took control of the Kokoda Trail under a ‘Joint’ Agreement with PNG in 2009 they have not invested a single dollar in a single battlesite to enance the value of the pilgrimage for the 65,000 Australian taxpayers who have trekked across it over the past two decades – it is also instructive that trekker numbers have fallen by 42 percent under their watch.‘

Hon Charlie Lynn OAM OL
Major (Rtd)

Index

Preface

When I first trekked Kokoda in 1991 local villagers across the Trail earned zero income as only a small number of Australians trekked across it each year.

Since then, an estimated 65,000 Australians from all walks of life have trekked across it.

Our research has revealed they are motivated by the military heritage of the Trail along with the physical and emotional challenge it presents – they don’t go to have an ‘environmental levitation‘ or a ‘cultural awakening‘ – they go to walk in the footsteps of our diggers – the other stuff comes later as a result of their pilgrimage!

Kokoda tourism has since generated approximately $250 million (K570 million) in tourism revenue for PNG airlines, hotels, transport, supermarkets, camping stores, employment of guides and carriers, campsite owners and villages, wages, campsite fees and local services from a base of nothing in 1992.

Kokoda tour companies have paid more than $6 million (K15 million) in trek fees to the PNG Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority (KTA).

Philanthropic donations of trekkers personal clothing, boots, medical and school supplies along with camping gear would amount to a further $6 million (K15 million) in hidden benefits. For example, when trekking began in 1992 none of the guides or carriers owned a pair of boots – today they all have high value trekking boots valued at up to $450 (K1000) a pair which have been donated to them.

The value of positive publicity for PNG from television documentaries, newspaper articles, and social media reports would be tens of millions of dollars.

However, since Canberra assumed responsibility for the management of the Kokoda Trail via the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative, the PNG Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), and the Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority in 2009, trekker numbers have crashed by 42%.

This has resulted in a cumulative loss in the region of $20 million (K50 million) in foregone wages, campsite fees and local purchase for subsistence villagers across the Trail – the very people Canberra has spent some $65 million (K165 million) trying to help under their ‘Kokoda Initiative’!

The fall in trekker numbers is primarily due to the fact the Canberra’s Kokoda Initiative and CEPA have failed to invest in any military heritage sites to enhance the value of the pilgrimage for international tourists since they assumed responsibility for it in 2009.

They have also failed to introduce any management protocols for Kokoda tourism – the ‘law of the jungle’ therefore prevails along the Trail as trek groups have heated clashes over campsites that do not have the capacity to meet demand – these local disputes in the middle of the jungle during peak trekking periods are obviously not visible from aid-funded offices in Canberra and Port Moresby so they don’t rate as a problem!

After two decades in charge it is still not possible to book a campsite; there is no trek itinerary management system in place for groups; sections of the Trail remain dangerously unsafe; and there are no toilets which meet the most basic hygiene standards.

Local villagers have been disenfranchised as no micro-business programs have been introduced to assist them to earn additional income by meeting the needs of trekkers.

The failure to protect the welfare of PNG guides and carriers engaged by illegal Kokoda tour operators is a serious breach of the DFAT Kokoda Initiative and Kokoda Track Authority’s ‘Duty of Care’ towards the people they are supposed to protect.

The failure to develop a database of trekkers has severely limited the opportunity to raise a significant amount of money each year for charitable causes in Central and Oro Province.

The engagement of an American anthropologist without any military history credentials as Australia’s National Military Heritage Advisor to develop a Military Heritage Master Plan for the Kokoda Trail via a dodgy recruiting process has all the hallmarks of an ‘inside job for the boys‘ in Port Moresby and should be the subject of a formal investigations as per this link:

Call for investigation into the recruitment process for the engagement of a ‘National Military Heritage Advisor’ for PNG

The engagement of environment officials, anthropologists, archaeologists, social-engineers and consultants in preference to accredited military historians and architects has seriously impeded the potential of the Kokoda Trail to achieve its potential as a world-class pilgrimage tourism destination for the economic benefit of traditional landowner communities across it.

Covid provided an opportunity for the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative, CEPA, KTA, and the Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) to review the reasons behind the rise and fall of Kokoda tourism under their watch since 2009.

Unfortunately DFAT used the cover of Covid to secretely develop a bill for a new ‘Kokoda Track Management Authority (KTMA) which would see the Kokoda Trail managed as an aid-funded environment park for the beneifit of foreign officials rather than as a tourism enterprise for the benefit of traditional landowners. An analysis of the proposed bill can be viewed on this link:

Environment Bill fpr Kokoda – A suicide note for pilgrimage tourism

The Potential of the Kokoda Pilgrimage

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve paused during our treks to marvel at the silence and surrounds of the moment – massive 300 year-old trees supported by large buttress roots with their own eco-systems – stag horns nestled in branches entwined with moss covered vines housing an array of tropical wildflowers and home to birds of paradise; giant pandanus trees; wild creek crossings; impenetrable jungle; magical moss forests; exquisite orchids; and spectacular jungle-clad mountain ranges extending as far as the eye can see.

Overlay this with compelling stories of the Kokoda campaign where desperate young men fought against each other in mud and blood with rifles, bayonets, grenades and fists for their very survival.

Add the selfless sacrifice of native Papuans who came from nowhere to rescue young men who could no longer crawl back to their base for help, and you have the basis of a high-value, world-class pilgrimage tourism destination for those prepared to walk off the beaten track to seek new horizons and challenge their physical and emotional limits.

It’s a pilgrimage that only those who complete it will ever understand.

The Beginning

The Kokoda Trail lay dormant for 50 years from the time of the Kokoda campaign in 1942.

As the 50^th anniversary of the campaign approached in 1991 I was invited by journalist, Patrick Lindsay, on behalf of two Papua New Guineans, David and Bernard Choulai, to organize a race across it. Patrick was aware of the fact that I was a former army major, an ultramarathon runner, the organizer of both the Anzac Day Marathon in Sydney and the annual Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon (1984-91). I was also a NSW Ultramarathon record holder in 1987.

The opportunity appealed as I was the son of an infantry veteran who served in Milne Bay, Lae, and Finchafen in 1943 – I was born in 1945 and the stories of the war in New Guinea helped shaped my character during my formative years.

I was also influenced by my own military service which included tours of duty in Vietnam and two years in Singapore where I visited Changi prison and Kranji War Memorial many times.  I later visited every Civil War battlefield in the United States during my two years as an exchange officer with the US Army. I was obviously impressed with the way the British and American Governments honoured their military heritage.

I expected a similar reverence to the Kokoda Trail when I began my initial research, however it was not to be – there were no topographical maps, virtually no information on the physical Trail itself, and limited information on the campaign.

So I recovered my army gear from a trunk in the garage, put together enough dehydrated rations that would last for at least 7 days along with a few other survival basics, and boarded the Air Niugini flight for Port Moresby.

Diary of my first trek

‘Arriving at the old Jackson’s airport in those days was a bit of a shock. I was met by Bernard Choulai who drove me to his haus in Badili near the Koki markets in Port Moresby. Every haus along the way was surrounded by razor wire and there seemed to be an armed guard at every entrance. Potholed roads and decrepit buildings were stained red with blobs of betel nut spit. The streets were littered with rubbish which was disposed of by the lighting of small fires every few hundred metres.  

‘This forbidding first impression was quickly subdued by the uninhibited friendliness of the people – I was warmly welcomed by everybody I met and quickly felt at ease in the place.

‘Bernard introduced me to the guide who would lead me across the trail. His name was Alex Rama, a Mountain Koiari from Naduri village on the trail. I couldn’t get much out of him though – his English was poor and my Pidgin was non-existent so I felt we were in for some interesting days ahead.

‘A lack of information and maps meant I had to overcompensate with rations and gear. All Alex I could get from Alex when I asked him how long it would take us to get to Kokoda was ‘maybe a week – maybe longer‘! I assumed he was going to see how I coped in the wet with my old army A-frame backpack that weighed in at 35 kg before he would give me a more accurate estimate.

‘The next five days were the wettest and toughest I can remember. The trail itself was not marked or even visible in many areas. Alex often stopped to scan the area before committing to where we should go. I later read where a British trekker got lost in the area between Imita and Ioribaiwa ridges which extends for five kilometres and crosses Emoo and Matama creeks 22 times. He was lucky to be found and very lucky to survive.

‘We pushed on till dark each day when I rigged up my old army hutchie to sleep under. The constant rain had increased the weight of my pack and caused my skin to chafe. The hills never seemed to end. After a couple of days I stopped asking Alex how far to go wherever we were going because the answer was always the same – ‘about 25 minutes’ he would say without changing his facial expression or giving any further hints.

‘We had our first disagreement on direction at Efogi. My sketch map indicated that we should continue directly north to Kagi village but Alex became animated for the first time and indicated we should take another trek to the North-East. There were no villages in that direction on my sketch map but it was apparent that was his preferred route so I slung my backpack across some very sore shoulders and followed him.

‘Hours later we entered a misty village perched on a mountain spur towards the top of Tovovo Ridge. Alex was obviously well known to the villagers and soon disappeared with a number of them. All I could do was pull out my ration pack and hexamine stove to make a brew. I soon noticed that villagers were sitting in a semi-circle about 30 meters away – it was apparent they were carefully observing what I was doing as they sat in silence and stared.

‘Whenever I looked down at my stove to check my brew I noticed curious young children tip-toeing towards me to have a closer look. Whenever I looked up they would giggle and rush back to the safety of the elders in the semi-circle. This became a ritual until Alex appeared about half-an-hour later. He told me this was his village which was called Naduri and he had gone to see him parents.

‘Later in the afternoon when a villager with a machete and shoulder satchel approached me and introduced himself as ‘Mark’. He gestured to me to follow him. I asked him where we were going. ‘Myola’ he said. ‘How long will it take’? I asked. ‘About an hour’ he replied before turning and heading off up the mountain into the mist.

‘About three hours later the jungle cleared to reveal an expansive grass covered plan. It was a remarkable contrast to the jungle that had enveloped us since we left Owers Corner. I later learned that the two dry lakebeds locals call ‘big Myola’ and ‘little Myola’ were extinct volcanic plateaus. I also learned they are anything but dry – swampy and marshy would be more appropriate terms.

‘The lake beds are such a contrast to the surrounding jungle which extends as far as the eye can see – and beyond – that local Koiari tribes regarded them as ‘tabu’ land before the war. As I gazed across the area I felt a distant familiarity with it but was too tired and physically sore to think too deeply about it.

‘Alex had lingered in his village for awhile and caught up with me at the edge of the lake. Mark was not to be seen but the smoke coming from the hut in the distance indicated that he had already arrived at his ‘guesthaus’. We joined him over an hour later after trudging through the swamp.

‘I settled into my hut which had a fire on top of soil to stop it burning through the floor. The soil was surrounded by small rocks to keep it in place – crude but effective and very welcoming. We were at 2200 m AMSL and temperatures can drop to near zero in the area. We rigged up a line to dry our clothes but the most painful part of the operation was lifting by arms to hang them due to the soreness in my shoulders.

‘Next morning Mark surprised us with some fresh bread he had baked  – my first piece of toast since we started. It was the beginning of a long relationship with Mark and his ‘guesthaus’.

‘After breakfast Mark presented me with Visitor’s Book to sign. As I perused it I noted that previous guests had commented on a plane they had visited. I asked Mark where it was and he explained that ‘long time ago Mixmaster come from Jesus and took it away’.

‘This helped explain my distant familiarity with the area.

‘In 1979 I had returned from a two-year posting with the US Army Parachute Rigging School in Fort Lee, Virginia. On my return I was promoted to Major and posted to the RAAF Base at Richmond. One of our specialities was rigging underslung loads for helicopters. We received an order to fly to Papua New Guinea to recover a Talair aircraft that had crashed in the highlands. We had a chinook helicopter and about half-a-dozen riggers. After recovering the aircraft to Goroka we were tasked to lift an old warplane area East of Goroka and recover it to Port Moresby for restoration.

‘I recall the chinook shutting down its engines and we alighted in what we all felt was an eerie scene – remote, isolated and quiet. We had landed beside a dilapidated old Ford Trimotor which had crashed in the area during the Kokoda campaign, recovered it to Port Moresby, then returned to Australia. Mission accomplished.

‘On my return to Australia after the trek I checked my army records and the place we lifted it from 12 years earlier was Lake Myola!

‘Alex and I resumed our trek back across the lakebed. The terrain merged into a spectacular moss forest and the walking was not as difficult for the next couple of days.

‘Our next obstacle was Eora Creek. The rain had not let up so it was thundering whitewater. The log bridge had been swept away and our only chance of getting across was with the rope we had with us. Alex gestured that he would try and find a crossing point downstream. He then disappeared for a couple of hours. All I could do was make another brew and rest.

‘Alex eventually emerged from the bush and led me through a path he had cut. We reached the edge of the water then took it in turns to cut a tree to drop it onto a group of large boulders about a third of the way across. We then shimmered backwards down the log and took a break. Alex then secured a rope to the boulders and entered the raging creek which was about waist deep.

‘I was amazed at his strength and his poise as he edged his way to the next group of boulders unfurling the rope as he progressed – he then held the rope which allowed me to edge across and grab his outstretched hand as he hauled me out.

‘Alex then went back to recover the rope and do it all again.

‘We took a long break as we examined the next obstacle which was a 2-meter gap to a boulder on the edge of the other side. Alex eventually removed his boots and stood rocking back and forth before launching himself into the air and landing on the rock – it was as if his feet had suction cups underneath them. He looked back at me with a huge grin – the first sign of emotion he had displayed since we started.

‘I threw the rope across to him to secure on the other side then had to drop into the water-gap which was shoulder deep. The pressure of the water against my backpack was incredibly powerful. I looked up at Alex – I could see the concern on his face but my focus was on my inch-by-inch progress until I could reach Alex’s outstretched hand. It was the second time he grinned that day.

‘We continued our trek up to Alola village where we were warmly welcomed once again. I later learned that Alex was telling the villagers that I would be bringing many trekkers across later on.

‘A day out of Kokoda and I was in a lot of pain. My skin was pulpy from the constant wet – my shoulders had welts in them from the backpack and my toes were stuck together. I didn’t have much left in the tank.

‘During the final few hours I started to fantasise about a hot bath in Kokoda – I had been told it was the biggest village across the trail and was the catchment area for a couple of thousand Orokaiva. I assume it had at least one hotel. My vision of a big steak and hot bath were soon shattered – the only luxury was an old building with a septic tank and a corroded wash basin on the Kokoda Plateau.

‘I was greeted by Patrick Lindsay who had flown up to Port Moresby and onto Kokoda to meet me at the end of the trek – after a brief greeting he sat me down on one of the monuments and recorded the following interview which he later weaved into our sponsorship package:

‘On arrival back in Australia we developed a concept for our 50th anniversary ‘Kokoda Epic Run’ which Patrick weaved into an impressive promotional video.

However we soon found it was difficult to sell because ‘Kokoda’ was not on the radar of potential sponsors – some of the younger marketing managers thought we were talking about ‘Kakadu’!

The law-and-order situation in Port Moresby was also a factor.

Public commentary in the early 90s referred to the Melanesian ‘arc of instability’ to our immediate north and the prospect of PNG becoming a ‘failed state’. The city itself was hidden behind razor-wire and a night curfew was in place. Convoys of security personnel with guard-dogs arrived in the city late in the afternoon and before nightfall there didn’t seem to be an entrance that was not guarded.

Interest in Kokoda was later aroused with the announcement that Paul Keating would become the first Prime Minister since the war to attend an Anzac Dawn Service at Bomana War Cemetery and lay a wreath on the Kokoda plateau.

There was a flurry of excitement within PNG tourism who hosted numerous meetings in the lead-up to the anniversary. They were expecting a large influx of visitors and wanted to make the most of it. As it transpired the numbers never eventuated, which was a blessing because there were no outcomes from any of the meetings!

By this stage I had concluded that the only effective way to understand the Kokoda Trail was to have people trek across it.

With this in mind I sent out 1500 corporate invitations to join a commemorative trek for the 50^th anniversary of the campaign. I received one corporate acceptance which led to the following article in the Sydney Morning Herald:

As a result of the article I received a further 17 individual enquiries and the Bulletin with Newsweek magazine decided to sponsor a reporter and photographer to accompany us.

Paul Keating’s unexpected gesture of dropping to his knees and kissing the ground at Kokoda was featured on every national news outlet.

Military historian, Dr. David Horner, who Accompanied Keating on the flight to Kokoda wrote:

‘Some twenty-five years ago, on 26 April 1992, I flew over the Owen Stanley Range in a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-130 transport aircraft with Prime Minister Paul Keating as his historical adviser. We landed at Popondetta and then boarded an RAAF Caribou for the short flight to Kokoda. Along the way I tried to describe the Kokoda campaign to the Prime Minister, who, I must say, absorbed the facts and figures with commendable speed and accuracy. At Kokoda Keating was scheduled to lay wreaths on the memorial stones to the troops who had fought on the Kokoda Trail. He duly laid the wreaths on the ‘official’ memorials, but then moved to an unofficial memorial with plaques from the different battalions that had fought in the campaign. While I explained what the battalions had done, Keating said to me, ‘I haven’t got a wreath for this one -; what will I do?’ Before I could gather my thoughts, he stepped forward and kissed the ground at the base of the memorial stone. For a moment I thought he had had a heart attack and had fallen over. The Prime Minister then moved to a dais and delivered a speech, which as far I could see was given ‘off the cuff’. Among other things, when referring to the Kokoda battles, he said: ‘… this was the first and only time that we’ve fought against an enemy to prevent the invasion of Australia … This was the place where I believe the depth and the soul of the Australian nation was confirmed.’ The previous day at a ceremony in Port Moresby Keating had expounded on the same theme, stating that Kokoda was ‘the most famous battle in Australia’s history’. He continued that the Australians in Papua New Guinea ‘fought and died, not in defence of the old world, but the new world … it might be said that, for Australians, the battles in Papua New Guinea were the most important ever fought.’ At a luncheon held after the Kokoda visit, Keating said that the morning had been ‘the most moving day of my public life’.

Our group, which had trekked from Kokoda to Owers Corner, then a further 40 km to the Dawn Service, caused the Prime Minister’s delegation and accompanying media pack to part at Bomana War Cemetery when we arrived to lay our wreath – obviously due to the pungent smell that permeated from us.

The Bulletin article, along with Keating’s actions and patriotic speeches, led to a national awakening of the significance of the Kokoda campaign when the fate of our nation was in the balance.

It also awakened my mind to a conscious desire for Australians to know more about the campaign.

It was such a profound experience the magazine published it as a cover story:

• Kokoda: Walk on the Wild Side – Anzac 1992

In 1994 I submitted a paper to both the Australian and PNG Governments calling on them to recognise the benefit of developing Kokoda as a pilgrimage tourism destination:,

‘In the short term PNG should focus its tourist development on its natural assets – the country and its people.  And it should develop policies to cater for the niche adventure market.
‘The Kokoda Trail is an ideal model.  The trail has a special aura because of its significance in the war.  The rugged beauty of the Owen Stanley Range and the nature and disposition of the villagers along the trail are unique attractions to the adventure tourist.
‘Tourism along the trail will create social and economic benefits for the villagers.  Local guides will be employed, food will be procured, accommodation will be used, and artefacts will be purchased.
‘The 50^th anniversary of the campaign across the Owen Stanley Range is a unique opportunity to refocus international attention to the challenge, the rigours, and the people of the Kokoda Trail.  It provides an opportunity for the government of PNG to establish a model for adventure tourism which would otherwise take many years to establish’.

As a result of the publicity we generated more trekkers began to cross the Trail, but, apart from some random purchases of local fruit and vegetables, village communities were receiving few financial benefits from them.

Early Landowner Frustrations

This led to some pent-up emotion which culminated in the closing of the Trail at Kovello village in November 1992.

I was leading a group of Australian journalists to attend the 50th anniversary of the raising of the Australian flag at Kokoda but we were prevented from passing through the village on our final leg.

I went ahead with half-a-dozen of my guides to discuss the issue and their grievances. The discussion could best be described as hostile as many of the menfolk took it in turns to confront me with raised voices, angry gestures, and the odd spray of betel-nut spittle.

Their complaints were based on the fact that the Australian Government had built a hospital, museum, and a guesthouse at Kokoda, but nobody from Kovello was employed so they wanted their own hospital, museum, and guesthouse!

After a tense period, the villagers settled down and we discussed the benefits they could receive from trekking. We also agreed to employ a few guides and carriers from the village on our future treks and do our best to represent their views back in Port Moresby.  The following year we funded the construction of a small kindergarten for them.

Our pilgrimage included an unexpected participant, Corporal Les Cook, a Kokoda veteran who had fought with the 2/14^th Battalion during the crucial stages of the campaign – he celebrated his 100^th birthday on 10 January 2023 – however, according to army records he is 103 years old because he put his age up by three years so he could enlist.

The Canberra Times

Canberra Times journalist, Marion Frith, captured the essence of the trek in her article: ‘A Hard Slog to Kokoda’ published in the Canberra Times on 15 November 1992:

‘WE ARE indeed a strange collection of life’s assorted gathered here so far from home’.

‘Checking our packs, checking out each other. Among us are the media’s most unfit, a professional fisherman, a surgeon‐cum‐ardent bushwalker, a marathon runner and a 70‐year‐old war veteran. We are on a pilgrimage for which, it turns out, we are largely unprepared.
‘Our reasons for being there are many: some of us have been lured by the historical significance on this the 50th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign, others by the challenge of a “walk” (ha!) regarded as one of the most difficult in the world, and I and one other are retracing the awful steps taken by our fathers before we were born. Les Cook, of Garran, a veteran of the bitter battle, is there because, he says, he could not pass up the chance to come back and see it one more time.
‘We have been herded together by an extraordinary man, Charlie Lynn, a retired Army major, who runs a company called Kokoda Epic. He is a passionate blend of adventurer and zealous patriot with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Papua‐New Guinea campaigns and an unswerving commitment to enshrining Kokoda and all it represents in the minds and hearts of ignorant Australians. . .
‘Between Charlie and Les the horrendous jungle track and the war which raged so viciously across it come to life. Charlie’s moving accounts are coloured with Les’s lively recollections. “This is where the Australians were butchered in their pits,” Charlie will say. “My mate lost his last tin of rations down that hill,” Les says. And together they guide us for a week through a moment in history that shaped a generation and cost it its innocence. . .
‘The pack of us that has fallen to the back of the group are slow and suffering. We stop constantly, cramping and aching. When will it end? By late afternoon it is raining steadily and we have not even made the ascent: there is a long way to go. Night begins to fall, as do my tears.
‘Charlie steadies me with a cuddly and some food. “Come on mate,” he says. “You can do it.” But I don’t want to do it and I don’t want to be there. I want to go home.Still we creep on. We are blanketed in darkness and lonely torches compete with armies of fireflies beneath a thick jungle canopy that censors any hope of starlight.
‘The “up” eventually becomes an equally horrendous down and we put nervous muddy boot after nervous boot, conscious that every step has the potential for injury. Where does our energy – pathetic and all but spent – continue to come from? How is that we are able to move at all?
‘Still, the camaraderie that descends upon this miserable caravan of lost souls is warm and enveloping. Those with torches light the way for those without, those temporarily firm on their feet support those who continually fall, those still able to muster a meagre dose of fleeting good cheer share it round in exchange for a last morsel of chocolate.
‘Finally, almost 16 hours after we set off that morning, we reach the village that is camp for the night. Charlie shepherds us in, he is tense and concerned. He had not reckoned on us being this bad. I collapse beside the fire, sobbing and shaking. My body is in spasm and I hear the nurse in the group mutter something about shock.‘Suddenly tender hands that just 24 hours ago belonged to strangers are upon me, pulling off wet clothes, finding dry ones, holding hot tea to my lips and pressing a bowl of warm mush into my hands. Someone has laid out my sleeping mat, someone else is quietening the fast swelling number of hysterical pledges to pull out. As a group we are close to being out of control. We have lost it. . .
‘INCREDIBLY I am not broken – just broken in – and I wake to find that the despair of the night before has evaporated into the mist hanging over the valley. A group of solemn‐faced children have put themselves on sentry duty by our camp and a newborn baby, her head kissed with the first buds of tight black curls, lies in her shy mother’s arms. . .
‘The rest of us will see how we go, and for the first hour or so the countryside does its best to woo us as we snake through paradise‐like village gardens and cross crystal rivers and rickety log bridges. The idyll is short‐lived and by midmorning we are once again entrenched in the seesaw of sickening climbs followed by hairy descents.‘Psychologically, however, something has shifted within most of us. Our whingeing has waned: we know we do not actually want to give up. If we survived the day before we can survive anything, and our bodies are spurring us on by proving they have purged themselves of the worst of the pain.
‘We never stop hurting, but few of us hurt like we did and a numbing exhaustion gradually replaces the jabbing pangs. One hundred kilometres through dense jungle? We are now really aware of just what that means, of just how hard it will be, but we are also aware that if we want to do it we probably can, it is up to us.
‘There are things we need to call on from within ourselves – grit and determination, Charlie calls it – and things we need to draw on from the group – support and friendship – in order to meet the challenge. . .
‘The next day we walk and walk, up one of the toughest rises yet, down some of the worst.‘We try to stop quantifying. What is worse, anyway? All the climbs are mongrels and even on a good day there is nowhere I ever want to be except out of there. But something keeps us going, keeps us dragging foot after foot. Every step completed is one that never has to retraced.
‘Up, down. Up, down. Around, across. Up, up, up.‘That afternoon we reach our nirvana – the village of Naduri. It is the home of our guides and we arrive to a hero’s welcome. Les leads us triumphantly in and we are met by the village elders – the original war‐time “fuzzy‐wuzzy angels” who carried the injured Diggers out against all odds down dangerous narrow mountain tracks.
‘A feast of food and flowers is laid out for us: mandarins, sugarcane, baked and steamed taro, pumpkin tops, potatoes, spinach.‘We fall quiet as these old men stand tall and proud. Charlie seizes the moment, the women and children are banked up around, and in a gesture that cuts across cultures and through language barriers he recites the poem that immortalised these angels. The old men beam, and our army of trekkers wipe away tears.
‘It is as if we have arrived. Somewhere, anywhere. Our guides sit with us, their families join us, and the village and its people become imprinted in our hearts. Another woman and I join the evening church service and are entranced as the pastor, his face illuminated by a hurricane lamp, recites the prayers in pidgin and the children’s voices rise in harmony so sweet we never want it to end.
‘We are silent as we get up from the rough‐hewn pew. At that moment we have experienced life at its most perfect, superb in its simplicity, and suddenly we realise that the walk was worth it, if only to find this. Peace and joy are tangible, if fleeting, qualities and we know that where we are going to, where we have come from, we will probably never find it again. We want to seal the village in barbed wire and never let the world touch it.
‘When we finally enter sleepy, tiny Kokoda, drenched in sunshine, we are surely as triumphant as the troops who re‐entered it that same morning 50 years before. We assemble at the commemorative ceremony, attended by a lowly Australian Government minion and a handful of veterans and as the Last Post sounds pitifully on a crackling portable tape recorder we are truly moved. We have done it. We understand as only those who have done it can. Our peace‐time journey has tested and pushed us as we could never have imagined. The silent respect we pay to the young men who served and suffered along the path we have crossed is deep. As we clamber aboard the truck that has come to take us to the airport we have no doubt we are now invincible. We have plummeted to our worst lows and soared to our greatest heights . . .
‘There is nothing physically or emotionally we cannot endure. We had set off as 34 individuals, half of us Australians and half of us Papuan villagers. When we part we are friends – an indivisible and strong unit for whom farewells come hard.‘If the spirit of Kokoda is strength in adversity, courage and mateship that spirit has been seeded in us all. We cross in a brief 20 minutes what has taken us eight gruelling days.
‘And like all those who crossed it before us, who left their souls in the mud and the heat and the terrifying jungle, few will ever go back.
‘Charlie, of course, is the exception. He will continue to pluck other ordinary humans from their comfortable lives and help them blossom into indefatigables, drawing on the greatness that lies largely unchallenged within us all. For the rest of us though, Kokoda will become just one humbling week in our lifetimes: albeit our whole lifetimes lived in just one unforgettably humbling week.’

Similar articles recounting the experiences of fellow journalists on the trek were published nationally in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, and the Sunday Age newspapers.

In 1994 I submitted a paper calling on our Federal government to proclaim the Kokoda Trail as a National Memorial Park:

‘Any plan that is developed should consider the fact that PNG does not have a welfare system and the Koiari and Orokaiva people who live along the track operate a subsistence economy.  They are also the custodians of the land on which the battles that saved Australia were fought. ‘If we develop our long-term plan around providing a regular source of income for them we can be assured that they will protect and honour the battlesites we restore, the educational memorials we build and the village museums we assist with.
‘The objective of the master plan should therefore be to develop a self-sustaining eco-adventure trekking industry for the Koiari and Orokaiva people who live along the Kokoda Trail.’

It was difficult to progress the idea as the responsibility for such a plan did not fit neatly into a single Ministerial portfolio despite the positive publicity generated on the following link:

• Kokoda News and Magazine Articles

Canberra’s Apathy towards Kokoda: 1992-2002

It was also increasingly evident that, despite Prime Minister Keating’s fine speeches a few months earlier, and despite my numerous requests for a Military Heritage Master Plan for the Kokoda Trail, the political caravan had moved as the following extracts from Ministerial correspondence attest:

4 November 1992:
‘While the proposals you have outlined in your letter of 25 August (1992) to the Prime Minister have undoubted merit, I can give no undertaking that anything of that nature would fall within the scope of the commemorative measures now under consideration’.
The Hon Ben Humphreys MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

22 February 1995:
‘The Government’s philosophy is to commemorate and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War 11 with activities here in Australia. The only specific events relating to ‘Australia Remembers’ planned for overseas are three small pilgrimages of Australian veterans.’
The Hon Con Sciacca MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

24 June1997:
“As a result it is not possible to award the Civilian Service Medal to the ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ at this distance in time.’
The Hon David Jull MP. Minister for Administrative Services

10 November 1997:
‘Your suggestion to form a small working group has merit. However, I do not recommend proceeding in this way at this time.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

11 December 2000:
‘Your proposal to develop the Trail is unfortunately outside the scope of the Australian aid program.”
Senator Kay Patterson. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs

7 December 2000:
‘With these limitations in mind, I regret I am unable to offer any prospect of achieving the all-of-government approach you seek in the time frame you propose.’ The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

13 January 2001:
‘I believe you have presented to the Government an excellent proposal and initial plan to establish the Kokoda Track (or Trail) as a National Memorial Park – long overdue!’
Stan Bisset AM MC. President, 2/14^th Battalion Association

7 February 2001:
‘Because of the above reasons and in consultation with the Chiefs of the villages along the Trail, I demanded a compensation of A$2,000,000.00 for developments along the Trail.  This was not for Oro Province as a whole.  However, after receiving your letter, I held discussions with the Chiefs and Councillors from the area and explained the contents of your letter in which I must say, all leaders from the area are happy with your efforts in going as far as preparing a proposal which is now before the Australian Government to develop a Master Plan for the development of the Kokoda Trail as a National Memorial Park.’
The Hon Sylvanus Siembo MP. Governor, Oro Province

18 February 2001:
‘It will come as no surprise to you then that the ‘Government Master Plan’ of which you inquire ‘for the development of the Kokoda Track as a national memorial park’ does not exist . . . I regret that I am unable to satisfy your demand for such a large scale approach to this issue.
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

8 March 2001:
‘The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby welcomes Mr Lynn’s enthusiasm and commitment to develop the Kokoda Track.  We acknowledge the contributions he has made in the past and note that he is highly regarded in a number of communities for his assistance.  Like many Australians, he has a strong belief in the Track’s historical importance and can see its potential as a source of revenue for local people and of education and personal development for young Australians in particular.  My staff and I have met with Mr Lynn on a number of occasions during his visits to Port Moresby, and we accept that he is pursuing his proposals in order to advance what he believes is in the best interests of the Kokoda Track and its people.’
H.E. Nick Warner, Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea

19 March 2001:
‘Your interest and commitment to the development of the Kokoda Track reflects your strong desire to improve the living conditions of its communities.  In this regard our High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea greatly values your interest and suggestions, especially with respect to small-scale projects that might fit into their preferred strategy currently being developed.  I trust this letter will be useful in finally resolving the issue of why my Department will not promote the creation of a National Memorial Park.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

9 May 2001:
‘I have noted your advice that the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Minister for National Planning is enthusiastic about your proposal.  However, I believe the master plan you seek is a document most appropriately compiled by the Government of PNG.  The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs may be interested in contributing to such a process that would provide aid and development initiatives to provinces along the Kokoda Track.  But it is a matter for the Government of PNG to decide if a master plan is appropriate and what organisations might be represented on any committee brought together for the preparation of such a document.  Consequently, I trust that you will understand why I will not be selecting staff from my Department to participate on your project team.’ The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

17 May 2001:
(Response to The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence)
‘In view of the current situation on the Kokoda Track it would be inadvisable for the Australian Government to promote a proposal for the Track’s development.  The subject of Mr Lynn’s proposal is a matter, in the first instance, for the Government of PNG.  It would be inappropriate for a group of Australian bureaucrats to walk the Track and develop a master plan in isolation to the situation on the ground.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

17 May 2001:
‘Thank you for your e-mail of 24 April 2001 to a number of Members of Parliament, Senators and others, regarding your proposal to create a Kokoda National Memorial Park in Papua New Guinea.  I have previously explained why I do not support your proposal at the present time and trust that you will refer to my earlier letters on this matter.  Mr Nick Warner, Australian High Commissioner to PNG, has provided advice that your proposal is premature and inappropriate at this stage.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

16 July 2001:
‘Having discussed this matter with representatives of the Papua New Guinea Government I have found no support for a park along the lines you have suggested.  Other options were discussed but, in view of the social problems in the area associated with the Track, these alternatives have not been developed.’
Senator Robert Hill, Minister for the Environment and Heritage

10 August 2001:
‘As far as I am aware, the social problems associated with the track are continuing.  Until such a time as these can be resolved by the people and Government of Papua New Guinea, and there is official PNG Government support for a memorial park, I am unable to consider expending resources and staff to work on a project team as you suggest.’    
Senator Robert Hill, Minister for the Environment and Heritage

18 September 2001:
‘In previous correspondence, I have stated clearly that no such trek will be taking place while the security situation in the area remains uncertain and current High Commission travel advisories are in place.  Further, officials and advisers on this issue have no need to embark on such a walk at public expense to capture the obvious importance of appropriate memorials being established along the Track.  All members of the committee have a comprehensive understanding of the significance of the Track and what it means to the Australian community . . . the intend of the inter-departmental committee is to consider all proposals for the Track and to develop a co-ordinated response for consideration by this Government.  Therefore and trek along the lines that you have proposed would be inappropriate, unnecessary and could be deemed as prejudicial to the deliberations of the committee.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

28 September 2001:
‘I appreciate that there would be a great deal of planning required for such a trek but wish to reiterate that no such trek will be taking place while the security situation in the area remains uncertain and current High Commission travel advisories are in place.  Further, members of the committee are already aware of the significance of the Track and the importance to the Australian community.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

17 October 2001:
‘With regards to the trek, I wish to reiterate that the IDC is aware of the significance of the Kokoda Track and that as I advised previously, no such trek will be taking place while the security situation in the area remains uncertain and current High Commission travel advisories are in place.’
The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

26 October 2001:
‘The IDC currently has no plans to take part in a trek across the Track.  All members of the committee have a comprehensive understanding of the significance of the Track and what it means to the Australian community.’
Dr Peter Poggioli, Chief of Staff to the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs

29 October 2001:
‘Thank you for the recent information you sent regarding your proposals for the ‘big picture’ plans for the track and I wish you well.  I agree that the Minister for Veterans Affairs is a hard person to deal with having spoken with a lot of the veterans and also seen the problems we have had.  Good luck with getting politicians to cross the track . . . The problem I see is that without a co-ordinated approach, everyone goes off doing their little bits and it all gets confusing.  A lot of people aren’t aware of the problems that occur in PNG in trying to achieve outcomes, etc.  After 3 years living there, the real problems of corrupt and unintelligent government members, cronyism, wantokism, compensation and cargo cult become very apparent.  Anyway Charlie, I wish you luck and if there is anything I can do to assist, please let me know.’ |
Ian Hopley, Australian Police Advisor in PNG, Executive Committee Member and Trustee, 2/14th Battalion Association

27 November 2001:
‘I am pleased to advise that the National Executive of the RSL has endorsed the proposal to establish a master plan for the development of the Kokoda Track Memorial Park.  Thank you for taking the time to address our National Executive and for the personal effort you have put into promoting this concept.’
Major-General Peter Phillips AO MC (Retd), National President, Returned Services League

25 January 2002:
‘Thank you for your letter of 6 December 2001 congratulating me on my recent appointment as Minister for Veterans Affairs. . . In response to you invitation to discuss your proposal for the development of the Kokoda Track as a National Memorial Park, I wish to endorse the comments of my predecessor. The inter-departmental committee (IDC) on Kokoda is currently considering all proposals for the Track and developing a co-ordinated response for consideration by this government.’
The Hon Danna Vale MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

30 July 2002:
‘I do however wish to draw your intention to the fact that the inter-departmental committee report was established to examine Australia’s interests in Kokoda Track Development and to determine ways to enhance public recognition of its importance to Australians.  Whilst the IDC included provision in the longer term for outlining a process for cooperative development, its purpose was not to develop a master plan for the future development of the Kokoda Track. . .’
The Hon Danna Vale MP, Minister for Veterans Affairs

Channel 9 Celebrity Anzac Trek – 1996

In January 1996, I was invited to lead a group of television celebrities including Angry Anderson, Darryl Braithwaite, Collette Mann, Dermott Brereton and Grant Kenny across the Trail for Channel 9.

After the program featured on Anzac Day it achieved the highest ratings ever recorded by ‘A Current Affair’ with almost 3 million viewers.

This confirmed my view that Australians wanted to know more about their military history.

While the Channel 9 television program led to a resurgence in public interest in the trek it created a personal financial and logistic dilemma as the Australian Government was ambivalent about the Trail, the PNG Government had more pressing social issues to deal with, and there was no inbound tourism organisation in place.

As a result, our logistics were organised from our home in Camden. All meals had to be prepacked in our kitchen. Backpacks had to be carefully prepacked and marked by the day. Our trek uniforms had to be organised and tagged. On the morning of departure, I had to hire a trailer, pack up to 50 backpacks, drive them to the airport, get them through customs, and hope that my wife, who had never driven a vehicle with a trailer attached, would be able to negotiate the peak hour traffic back home.

The flight from Sydney to Port Moresby was often the only chance I had to catch up on some sleep after a frenetic 48 hours’ preparation.

The situation was reversed after my arrival in Port Moresby. I had to explain to customs why I had so much baggage, convince them I had 25 Australians following me the next day who would contribute to the PNG economy, etc. etc. Then unpack and repack most of the gear in my room at the Gateway Hotel.

On the Trail

On the Trail trek we have a duty of care to our trekkers to ensure the Trail is safe and campsite facilities are adequate to meet their needs. This was the basis of our original proposal for a management body to be established in PNG and for trek fees to be introduced to meet these two basic requirements 21 years ago in 2003.

During our treks we are responsible for the welfare of our trekkers and our PNG support crews in the  rugged and remote area across the Owen Stanley Ranges.

Our day starts at 4.30 am when we wake to rouse our trekkers for the day ahead.

Prior to departure we brief our PNG support crew on the logistic requirements for the day, and brief our trekkers separately on the terrain, safety, villagers, and historic sites they will visit – then provide detailed historical briefings at each one. We also attend to any medical issues trekkers might have before hauling our own packs onto our backs to lead the group.

During the day we have to assess the dangers of river crossings and landslides; be alert to the possibility of emergency medical evacuations and implement our plan whenever and wherever it is required. This can cause significant delays at the evacuation point and put us under considerable physical pressure as we then have catch up with our group.

There are invariably one or more stragglers during the day. This causes us to stay behind with them which often involves late night arrivals into camp.

During peak trekking periods we have to secure our campsites by sending a PNG team ahead of the group – and often get involved in heated discussions with other trek groups who have not pre-arranged to stay at the site which does not have the capacity to accommodate them.

This is because KTA staff comfortably parked in their swivel chairs behind remote computer screens in Port Moresby have not been able to work out how to implement a basic campsite booking system, or a trek itinerary management system, or a campsite development plan, or a trek itinerary management plan, or even a single hygienic toilet to meet the needs of their paying customers over the past 14 years!

By the end of our 10-day trek we will have averaged around 16 hours per day, trekked a total distance of 152 km, climbed a total of 7150 metres, and descended 7570m.

Then begins the clean-up as gear has to be accounted for; tents, sleeping bags and mats washed, dried and repaired where necessary; medical stores to be rehabilitated; funds to be acquitted; surveys to be distributed to trekkers; etc., etc.

Notwithstanding this, leading treks was the easy part of the whole operation due to the professionalism of our PNG support crews who truly are masters of their environment and who welcome the opportunity to earn some money in an economy that seemed to be well and truly busted in the mid to late 1990s.

I hung in, despite Jill’s concern that we were in the red zone of our credit card limit, because I believed the emotional impact of the pilgrimage, the physical challenge, the authenticity of the jungle environment, and the link to traditional villagers, would appeal to dinkum Australians. 

Negative media reports and ‘Traveller Alerts’ in Australia caused deep resentment among PNG Government officials who had their work cut-out restoring order. Our patronising attitude culminated in the frisking of PNGs much loved Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare, by security goons at Brisbane airport. It was regarded as a national insult.

PNG was not therefore regarded as a favourable place to do business.

Olympic Torch Relay Opportunity

When I learned the Olympic Torch would be carried through the Pacific enroute from Athens to Sydney for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The plan was for each Pacific country to have the torch for an hour.

I argued that our PNG should have a day allocated to the relay because of shared wartime relationship.

I based my belief on my past experience of organizing similar professional events which included a 2,800 km relay from Cairns to Melbourne as part of Melbourne’s bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games; the annual 1,000 km Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon; the Australian Marathon; and the fact that I had trekked across the Kokoda Trail more than 20 times over the previous nine years.

I believed it offered a unique opportunity for us all to reflect on our shared history and to honour the sacrifices made by both nations for the peace and prosperity we enjoy today.

My proposal, which I submitted to the organizers of the Sydney Olympics can be viewed on this link:

• Proposal for the Olympic Torch to be carried across the Kokoda Trail enroute from Athens to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

Whilst the proposal was popular in Australia we were unable to get any official support from PNG.

We eventually finished up with 2^nd prize as the Sydney Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) finally agreed to link it to the Kokoda Trail by having it relayed from Owers Corner to Port Moresby

The Oro Provincial Governor on the Kokoda side, The Hon Sylvanus Siembo, was not happy with the result and closed the Trail.

All officials efforts to have him lift the blockade were unsuccessful.

I then arranged to meet with the Governor in his parliamentary office in Port Moresby and found him willing to negotiate an outcome that would benefit his people. I outlined my proposal for a trek permit fee to be introduced to enable village communities to get a more equitable share of benefits from the increasing interest in Kokoda Tourism.

He accepted the proposal and the Trail was reopened at a special ceremony attended by Kelvin Templeton and myself in Kovello village. I was honoured when Governor Siembo presented me with a traditional headband:

‘This headband that I have put around your head is a symbol of a chief and is sacred.  It is only worn by chiefs in the Oro Province.  This headband you wear marks you as one of the chiefs of the Orokaiva people because of your hard work to my people in our endeavours to reaching a lasting solution to the famous Kokoda Trail closure.  This headband and necklace that I presented to you today marks our brotherly relationship and a lasting memory to live on in future generations to come.’

Our Land Offering

The morning after we arrived in Naduri village on 27 September 2001 we woke to an assembly of villagers formed up behind a group of clan leaders sitting in a semi-circle. They were dressed formally and I was invited to stand before them. The son of village elder, Mr Andy Indiki then stood before us and read the following proclamation:

‘The Land Offering.‘The land entitles/landowners of Naduri Village, Mt Koiari, North of Central Province.
‘The Village Luluai/Village Constable, Village Elder and Director of Land, under Oagi Clan of Naduri village and the famous World War 2 (2) carrier knows as Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel of the Kokoda Tracking Trail (Mr Ovoru Indiki, 86 year old)‘The Land Directors, Mr Ovoru & Mr Mala Batia Sai with other members of the clan having this privilege and opportunity to offering you Mr Charlie Lynn the hectare of land.  Been so long generous along the track the we have enormously afforded.
‘Under the Constitution of the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Local Level Government Council the land is entitled under the Oagi Clan Directores, Mr Ovoru Indiki, Mr Mala Sai Batia, Mr Joel Oreki, Mr Sibele Manani, Mr. Sovemi Aoba, and Andy Ovoru, with among other clan members which our true Ancestors lived through after the World War 11 (2) stepped in and lots of disturbance with many damages have occurred with etc, enforcing through by the two clients which the Australians become the victories of it over the Japanese.
‘The Land discussion have been made among the Oagi Clan and family itself and every Community living within and around the Nauri area, and outside Naduri village.
‘The Land discussion have been made among the Oagi Clan and family itself and every Community living with8in and around the Nauri area, and outside Naduri village.‘The Community of Naduri village and hosting clan, Oagi Clan are happy to hand over the hectar of land to Mr. Charlie Lynn, under the witnessing of Oagi Clan members, Church Elder, Village Lawyer, Villager Elders, and the Community of Nadur Village with other Clan Membersd and the Clan Directors of Oagi Clan.
‘We therefore give you this hectare of Land to establish and do other activities in remarkable of yourself and etc.‘The Clan members, Oagi Clan are as listed.‘The Land Directores:
Mr Ovoru Idiki. Mr Mala Soi Batia. Mr Joel Oreki. Mr Sibele Ramaui. Mr Soremi Aoba Baria. Mr Andy Ovoru.
‘Hope your establishment to this area will be much appreciated in the future of your living.
‘Thank you.
’28 September 2001’

This was a humbling, symbolic gesture of goodwill from a community which enjoyed their interaction with Australians and who were keen for trekking to resume after almost 12 months as it was their only source of income.

Meeting the Grand Chief

On 15 November 2002, I was invited to a private meeting with the Prime Minister of PNG, Sir Michael Somare at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel in Sydney by the PNG High Commissioner, H.E. Renagi Lohia.

I was asked if I could arrange a meeting between Sir Michael and the NSW Premier, Bob Carr.

I was able to do this and the following day I escorted the Prime Minister to the Premier’s office and introduced them. I believe this was the start of a close relationship between them.

I received the following note from the Premier after I wrote to thank him for hosting the meeting at such short notice:

‘Dear Charlie,
‘I’ve always been impressed by your love of the Track and your determination to ensure its place in the Australian imagination is never lost.
‘You know better than most that the Kokoda Track isn’t just a place where our salvation was won – though we should remember and document and treasure every inch of it.  Kokoda’s now part of the Australian Dreaming, a sacred site.
‘More than that the Men of Kokoda are among the greatest of heroes in a land that rightly canonizes few heroes.  And as time slowly steals the survivors from our midst, it’s hard to resist thinking that Australians in the not too distant future will look back with almost disbelief at the giants who lived in those days.’

The continued lack of any sort of management system allowed the ‘law of the jungle’ to prevail while landowners became more frustrated as their interests were ignored.

Australian High Commissioners in Port Moresby, Nick Warner, and his successor, Michael Potts were aware of the situation but unable to implement any sort of management system without the consent of the PNG Government.

Intervention by PNG Minister

I then approached Sir Peter Barter, the PNG Minister for Provincial and Local Government Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, to seek his support in establishing a management body. This was new ground for PNG as there was no precedent for operating such a place as a National Park.

Sir Peter therefore established a ‘Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority’ which became known as the KTA. Unfortunately, he was not able to provide any funds to support the new body and there was no interest in the enterprise from the Australian Government.

My company, Adventure Kokoda, provided an advance of $10,000 to engage a CEO and establish an office facility. Mr Warren Bartlett, a former Kiap who was providing our logistic support in PNG, was engaged on an annual salary of $12,500, and provided with a part-time assistant.

A Board of Directors was duly appointed however they had no qualifications or experience in commerce, governance, tourism, or trekking. This would soon lead to serious challenges for the CEO who had to seek to protect the finances of the KTA from them.

A trek fee of K200 was introduced. It was bitterly opposed by some eco-tour companies which added to the initial stresses Bartlett had to deal with in his endeavours to bring a degree of order to the trekking industry.

Sir Peter later 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.”

I was convinced that if traditional landowners received a site-fee from trekkers they would protect and maintain them. During this period, I had led several mapping expeditions across the Trail where I  rediscovered the original Brigade Hill and Isurava battlesites which had been bypassed and reclaimed by the jungle over the years since the war.

Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF)

My position as an elected Member of the NSW Parliament provided a platform to organise some large fundraising functions based on an annual ‘Ralph Honner Oration’ at Parliament House. These were well patronised, and we raised significant funds for the Foundation.

I invited a small number of Sydney based trekkers to join me on the Board of Directors which I established.

I also discussed the opportunity for a group of AFL footballers from the Sydney Swans to trek Kokoda with the CEO, Kelvin Templeton, a former Brownlow Medallist. During our discussions I learned that Kelvin had a strong intellectual interest in indigenous affairs.

We then discussed the opportunity to run a series of workshops with key stakeholders along the Kokoda Trail and within the trekking industry, in Australia and PNG, to develop a strategic plan for the Trail.

We agreed that I would raise the funds necessary to support the workshops and he would enlist the support of Dr Stephen Wearing from the University of Technology in Sydney. Dr Wearing is a leading academic in the field of sustainable eco-development in Third World countries. He then enlisted the support of Paul Chatterton from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in PNG. Paul was a long-term advocate for the protection of pristine rainforest and endangered species in PNG. He was also fluent in Tok-Pisin.

Natalie Shymko, a staffer in the NSW Parliament who had previously trekked with me, volunteered to record our workshops and meetings.

I was able to raise approximately $200,000 to cover the cost of workshops in Sydney, Port Moresby, Efogi village and Kokoda. It was hard yakka as the Board I established to assist with raising funds were more adept at giving advice than generating dollars!

I eventually had the opportunity to present our strategic plan to Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare at a private function in 2006.

I also submitted it to the Minister for Veterans Affairs but did not receive a response.

Natalie Shymko maintained detailed records of all workshops conducted in Sydney, Port Moresby, Efogi village, and Kokoda which can be viewqed on these links:

• The Kokoda Track Foundation: 2003-2006
• Template for Village-Based Workshops across the Kokoda Trail
• KTF Strategy for the development of pilgrimage tourism across the Kokoda Trail

My emphasis on our shared military heritage and the commitments I made to local communities along the Trail during my treks had created tensions within the Board as they had little appreciation of the reality of the ‘Melanesian Way’; none had any experience of the reality of dealing with PNG; and none had served in the military.

I was consistently advised of the need to have local communities relay requests for support to the Board for consideration as part of our approval process. They were unaware of the difficulty of explaining this approach while I was surrounded by hostile villagers waving machetes and spitting betel nut as part of their normal ‘negotiating process’. The villagers invariably wanted some form of commitment before they would allow our groups to continue. At that stage I was involved with politics on a daily basis in the NSW Parliament and didn’t have the appetite to be involved in the politics of the Board I had created.

I therefore resigned from the Foundation and asked that my name be removed from their records as it was becoming increasingly clear they would prefer to be a quasi-aid agency further afield in PNG than a protector of our shared military heritage across the Trail.

This was confirmed by Dr Nelson in her interview with Dr Bino:

‘The formation of the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF) could be viewed as an effort to achieve these goals, and so could the subsequent decision to remove the Australian based trek operators from its board of management, since this would remove any perception of bias in the way that it managed the donations (interview, Dr Genevieve Nelson 2011)’.

Dr Nelson neglected to advise Dr Bono that I had developed and funded the concept of the philanthropic body; that I had introduced her to the Trail; led the two treks she participated in; funded her first visit to PNG as a PhD student; and introduced her to many valuable contacts.

Dr Nelson went on to complete her PhD thesis titled, ‘The socio-economic and psychological determinants of academic outcomes in Papua New Guinea’ and has since carved out a comfortable niche for herself in PNGs aid-funded NGO sector.

The Kokoda Track Foundation then distanced themselves from our military heritage by reducing their name to an acronym, ‘KTF’ and replacing the digger and ‘fuzzy-wuzzy angel’ logo with a blue butterfly – they now operate as Samaritans in search of a cause throughout PNG.

The Kodu Gold Mine

The next major issue we had to confront was the appearance of survey pegs on the southern slopes of the Maguli Range and the clanking of bulldozers as they prepared to open a rich gold and copper deposit near Mt Bini on the adjacent range to the Trail.

We had first noticed the appearance of survey pegs along the Trail on the southern side of the Maguli Range and assumed the government was finally mapping the area as a result of the increasing interest in trekking across it.

We then became aware of bulldozers on the Western side of Mt Bini adjacent to the Kokoda Trail clearing the area for a road link  the side of the range. Soon after the pristine waters of Ofi Creek turned black due to the pollution from the mine area.

We expressed our concerns to the Government which led to the following article in the Australian newspaper:

The Australian – PM battles to save Kokoda from goldmine

Greg Roberts, September 29, 2006.
‘JOHN Howard has moved to scupper plans by an Australian company to mine gold along the Kokoda Track, where more than 600 Australian soldiers lost their lives in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II.
‘In a development likely to spark tensions between Canberra and Port Moresby, the Prime Minister is determined that the proposal by Gold Coast-based Frontier Resources is scrapped.
‘Mr Howard is prepared to tell his PNG counterpart, Michael Somare, that Australia will not accept large-scale mining on the track, where thousands of Australian trekkers make an annual pilgrimage.
‘But Frontier yesterday warned against “foreign government intervention” over a gold deposit, worth an estimated $1.3 billion at current prices, it has unearthed in the Mount Bini area, northeast of Port Moresby.The 96km Kokoda Track passes right through Frontier’s 540sqkm Kodu exploration area, which is also estimated to contain almost $400 million worth of copper.
‘Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway chairman and former RSL NSW president Rusty Priest said the sanctity of the Kokoda Track should be preserved.”Australians appreciate the sacrifices made during the Kokoda campaign and we don’t want to see that area ripped up for a goldmine,” Mr Priest said.
‘Mr Howard dispatched a high-level delegation headed by Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet first assistant secretary Hugh Borrowman to PNG to inspect the proposed mining area this week.‘Members of the delegation, which returned to Canberra last night, included Australian War Graves director Major General Paul Stevens, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Pacific division head David Binns and Department of Environment and Heritage assistant secretary Greg Terrill.
‘The visit comes as Australian war veterans – to be headed by Mr Howard’s factional ally in the NSW Liberal Party, MP Charlie Lynn – prepare to launch a campaign against the mine.‘Mr Lynn, a Right faction powerbroker, is the founding chairman of the Kokoda Track Foundation and owner of Adventure Kokoda, which organises trekking tours of the track.
‘The Kokoda Track took a heavy toll on both Australia and Japan. More than 600 Australian soldiers’ lives were lost and more than 1000 were wounded.‘By the time the last enemy bastions at the end of the overland route fell on January 22, 1943, the lives of more than 12,500 Japanese had been lost.‘Mr Lynn said yesterday that the Prime Minister had asked the delegation to explore options to protect the environmental integrity of the track.‘He said he was disturbed that an Australian company planned to mine the area. He had seen exploration tags recently pegged along the track and exploration work was clearly visible.”We are talking about a national icon and if we as Australians allow anyone to desecrate that, we will never be forgiven,” Mr Lynn said.
He said the mine risked undermining a thriving trek-based ecotourism industry.”When trekking started in the early 1990s, all the villages along the track had a combined income of $3000 a year,” he said.
“These days, one village earns that much in a month.
“But Frontier manager Peter McNeil said Mr Lynn had a conflict because of his involvement in the trekking business.
Mr McNeil said he had been consulted by Mr Howard’s delegation and did not believe Canberra should intervene.
“It would not be right for a foreign government to try to impose its will on Papua New Guinea,” he said.
He said the mine would have minimum visual impact on the track and had been welcomed by villagers, who believed the only locals who benefited from trekking were a handful who owned hostels along the track.
“They see it as the main chance to get development in the area,” he said.
“These are people who have to walk four hours to get first aid and who have a one-room shack as a school.
“‘Frontier ran into trouble with the stock exchange in July after shares rose 300 per cent on the basis of a controversial resource calculation announcement.
‘It had repackaged two old releases into a bullish announcement that cited billions of dollars of in-ground copper based on “hypothetical reserves”.

This article was based on known facts at the time.

Our subjective relationship with Nauro villagers were based on the reality of our association with them which began when we first camped in their small village in 1992. It was a small village with its own airfield located in its original wartime location within the Nauro swamp area. Access was via a series of floating logs which posed their own challenges for trekkers.

There was a different ‘vibe’ in the village. Locals seemed to be shy and kept their distance from trekkers. There were no welcome ‘sing-sings’ which were common in other villages across the Trail. Communication was difficult due to their poor English skills. They seemed to be devout Seventh Day Adventists with a small church but no school. They lived a subsistence lifestyle.

Soon after the turn of the century in 2000 the village divided and relocated to their current locations – half to a ridge on the northern section of the Maguli Range and half down in the valley between the Range and Mt. Bini.  Our PNG guides informed us the divide was due to sorcery related issues within the village community.

The licence to operate the mine was then cancelled due to an intervention by the Australian Government. Our guides later told us the Government was going to pay them around PNGK6 million in compensation and they were going to move down to Moresby to buy some buses. We never sought to verify the details which were sketchy however they did vacate the village soon after.

I did wonder at the time who might have been advising the villagers, who were financially illiterate, on how to invest the windfall they were about to receive but it was not my business and we continued to focus on our trekking business.

The Villagers

If the focus had been on villagers one the first priorities should have been to follow the money trail.

We now know that some K175 million has washed through village economies since we led our first group across the Trail in 1992.

We also know there are low levels of financial literacy in subsistence village communities but, apart from that, we have no idea how they have invested this money – if this was known we would be in a much better position to assist them.

I have observed little change within the physical structure of village communities during my 101 treks over the past 33 years. The only noticeable improvement in the larger villagers has been the construction of Lysaght type church buildings on large concrete slabs.

The report from Pacific Islands Projects in 2014 found that many villagers from larger communities live in Port Moresby rather than their original village. It is assumed that Important considerations for them would be access to job opportunities and education for their children – but this is just a guess.

A priority focus on villagers would have resulted in the engagement of financial advisors familiar with the formal and informal sectors of PNG and the Melanesian Way.

This process would allow authorities to develop basic financial literacy programs and advice on savings and investmentsat the village level.

For reasons known only to DFAT-Kokoda Initiative officials no research has ever been conducted into this most important area.

Back to Nauro!

There is a strong possibility that the reported K10 million awarded to a small group of financially illiterate subsistence villagers could have been siphoned off them due to poor management advice and/or the intervention of corrupt officials and other grifters.

This could in turn have led them back to the village to have a second attempt to bluff the government into providing them with another financial windfall.

There is therefore a need to revisit the facts behind the original compensation payout to them.

The original proposal by Frontier Resources was based on shared benefits between the payments to landowners, and payments for the development of the 138 km Kokoda Trail as well as education for all communities across it via the Kokoda Track Authority. This would have amounted to $100 million over the 10-year life of the mine.

It is worth noting that if tour companies had been included in the discussions on the impact the mine might have on pilgrimage trekking and had been advised of this offer they would have provided full support to it provided it included proper environmental safeguards. Unfortunately we were ignored by an arrogant mining company and ignorant government officials.

The following factors should therefore be considered in the Terms of Reference for a review of the illegal blockade that has closed the Trail and shut down the primary source of income for village communities:

• What level of financial compensation did the Australian Government provide to the PNG Government in return for their assistance in withdrawing approval for the original mine to proceed?
• What level of compensation was approved by the National Executive Council for distribution to the Nauro landowners?
• Do the Nauro landowners have an official ‘landowners association’ or a registered company?
• If so, who are the registered directors?
• Was consideration was given to Nauro landowners sharing their compensation with other landowner communities via the Kokoda Track Authority according to the formula proposed by Frontier Resources.
• Did Nauro landowners establish a company to manage the buses they were reported to have invested in?
• If so what was the name of the company; who were the directors; and what is the current financial status of the company?
• What are the details of other investments they might have invested in?
• Were any loans made to individuals – if so what were the details and have these been repaid?
• Were there any other financial beneficiaries involved in the distribution of the compensation they received?
• If Nauro landowners are owed additional compensation as they claim, do they have any intention in sharing the benefits with other Kokoda Trail communities as per the original formula proposed by Frontier Resources?

Relevant Links:

• The Kodu Goldmine – Facts, Fallacies and Fabrications
• Kokoda Blockade – A catalyst for change
• Kokoda Tourism – The cost of anarchy!
• Illegal Kokoda blockate: Timeline and consequences for Kokoda tourism
• Proposed resolution to the illegal blockade on the Kokoda Trail

PNG Management: 2004-2008

From the time of the establishment of the PNG Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority in 2004 until Australia’s intervention in the management of the Kokoda Trail trekker numbers increased by 255% from 1584 in 2004 to 5621 in 2008.

The rapid increase placed an intolerable strain on the CEO, Warren Bartlett, as he sought to keep an increasingly corrupt Board of Directors in check and manage an increasing number of rogue trek operators who were ignoring the need to pay for trek permits.

Bartlett was a respected former Patrol Officer known as ‘Kiaps’ and had more than 30 years’ experience in Government administration.

He was well versed in the management vagaries of the ‘Melanesian Way’. When he sensed that some rogue Australian companies were rorting his trek permit system in 2008 he quietly arranged an audit at a checkpoint half-way along the Trail. The audit revealed that rogue trek operators had failed to apply for 1600 trek permits which resulted in a serious reduction in income.

The management system on the Trail at this stage was virtually non-existent as Bartlett did not have the staff or resources to meet the demands he faced from corrupt officials and rogue tour companies. Legitimate tour companies were desperate for some order to the system however there was no signs of any urgency from the advance DEWHA team to address this issue.

Canberra’s Intervention – 2008

Canberra reacted to the Kodu goldmine by offering assistance to PNG to stop the mine and protect the Trail from any future incursions from forestry or mining operations – they decided that the most effective strategy would be to seek a World Heritage Listing for the Trail and the surrounding Owen Stanley Ranges.

Responsibility was then allocated to their Department of Environment, Water, Heritage, and Arts (DEWHA) as it was responsible for the heritage of ‘overseas places of interest to Australia’.

They then funded a ‘Joint’ Understanding with the PNG Government in March 2008 to take effect the following year – the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has responsibility the Gallipoli peninsula, was sidelined in the process.

Soon after I met a small group of DEWHA officials walking across the Trail with a local PNG guide – I was surprised at their choice as PNG guides knew little about the military history of the Kokoda campaign or pilgrimage tourism.

We chatted for about an hour – I provided them with as much information as I could and hoped that we would meet again to continue our discussions.

As it transpired this was a precursor for a more visits by officials, consultants, environmentalists, anthropologists, archaeologists and social engineers in their endeavour to assist in the development of a case for a World Heritage Listing for the area and do a bit of social-engineering on the side.

The invasion of the new arrivals was  reminiscent of Keith Wiley’s observations in ‘Assignment New Guinea’  53 years earlier:

‘In recent years the academics have discovered New Guinea. Grave, plump, portentous, they swarm north in their hundreds each winter, generally finishing somewhere near Goroka in the Eastern Highlands where at times they become so numerous that every bush and stone seems to conceal a lurking bureaucrat or anthropologist.  After a few weeks or a few months they return home to prepare brisk solutions for all the problems which beset the land.  Too often they see New Guinea coldly as an exercise in nation-building to be carried out as quickly as possible, with one eye on the taxpayer at home and the other on some ranting demagogue in the United Nations. ‘At times the maligned colonialists, who walked ever the country and fought for it, seem to come nearer the heart of the matter.  Stripped of slogans and self- interest, New Guinea emerges not as a ‘problem’; to be ‘solved’, or assessed , but simply as a land, wild and beautiful, worthy to be loved for its own sake; with a people, backward, kindly, and in need of help^[i].

Assignment New Guinea. Keith Wiley. Jacaranda Press.1965 P. i

We soon learned they just as unfamiliar with PNG and the Melanesian Way as their predecessors were in 1965.

There was much confusion at the time as a Kokoda Development Program was being run by the Australian High Commission and a new DFAT funded ‘Kokoda Initiative’ was assigned to the PNG Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA). They were merged years later but in the intervening period they each operated in a parallel universe and neither program was much interested in pilgrimage tourism.

The Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heritage, and Arts (DEWHA) was allocated responsibility for the Kokoda Trail as it was responsible for the heritage of ‘overseas places of interest to Australia’. A ‘Joint’ Understanding (developed and funded by Canberra) which sidelined the Department of Veterans Affairs, was signed with the PNG Government in March 2008.

The management system on the Trail at this stage was non-existent. Kokoda tour companies were desperate for some order to be brought to the system however there was no sign of any urgency from the advance DEWHA team to address this issue.

In 2008 Prime Minister Rudd appointed Mr Sandy Hollway as his ‘special envoy to Kokoda’ to address increasing tensions between the Kokoda Development Program, the Kokoda Initiative, the Kokoda Track Authority, the two Provincial Governments, Local Level Government Wards, village communities and tour operators.

Hollway was a highly respected official however he knew little about PNG or the complexities and subtleties of the ‘Melanesian Way’.

I arranged a meeting to brief him on the strategy the Kokoda Track Foundation had used to engage village communities and to introduce Colonel David Knaggs with a recommendation that he be engaged as part of his team to assist in facilitating meetings and workshops with PNG stakeholders.

Knaggs had served with the PNGDF for two years during his army career, is fluent in Tok Pisin, had an empathetic understanding of PNG culture, and had trekked Kokoda. He was a former Director of Communications and Information Systems for the Australian Defence Force and worked as a consultant for Templeton-Galt where he was engaged to facilitate workshops in Port Moresby, Kokoda and Sydney for the Kokoda Track Foundation in the lead-up to the development of their strategic plan for the Kokoda Trail.

I also recommended that Sandy Lawson be engaged as part of the team. Sandy had worked in PNG as an agricultural scientist for more than 40 years, was fluent in Tok-Pisin, Motu, Koiari and Orokaiva ‘Ples Tok’. He was highly respected by traditional landowners across the Trail as he had worked with them for a couple of decades.

Neither Knaggs nor Lawson were contacted, and it was soon evident that Hollway had been engaged to provide a political fix for the Australian media rather than a management solution for PNG.

Apart from the conduct of a few forums and the official opening of an aid-funded health centre in Efogi village there were no identifiable outcomes from the forums he conducted.

The two programs were eventually amalgamated, and Australian environment officials were embedded in the Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) and the Kokoda Track Authority (KTA).

The Political Conundrum

Early meetings were convened by the CEO of the Tourism Promotion Authority, Peter Vincent, a former Air Niugini marketing manager in 1991 in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign.

Vincent understood the value of international tourism and was well placed to co-ordinate the emerging Kokoda tourism industry. He was hampered by the fact his Tourism Ministers were towards the bottom of the political pecking order due to the lack of royalty income and aid-funded projects for their portfolio. Their political ‘benefits’ were therefore limited to a few overseas trips each year – far less than their colleagues appointed to the mining, forestry, fisheries, and environment portfolios!

Unfortunately neither PNG nor the Kokoda Trail rated on Canberra’s political radar in the 1990s.

However, after the opening of the Isurava Memorial by Prime Ministers John Howard and Sir Michael Somare on the 60^th anniversary of the campaign the number of trekkers increased rapidly along with revenue from trek permit fees.

A higher level of political interest coincided with Australia’s announcement of a $15 million annual aid-package for the Kokoda Trail in 2008.

The funds were washed through CEPA as the aid package was directed towards assisting PNG to obtain a World Heritage listing for the Kokoda Trail and nearby Owen Stanley Rangers.

The Annette Dean Management Experiment

In early 2009 Annette Dean, was appointed CEO of the KTA by Canberra – an early DEA selection!

Dean was assisted by Silas Sutherland, who was employed as her Chief Operations Officer in February 2009.

By this stage Warren Bartlett had established a KTA office in the Brian Bell Centre at Boroko, Port Moresby.

In a chance exchange at Boroko Foodworld the former KTA CEO, Warren Bartlett had a conversation with Silas Sutherland. He advised that tour companies were frustrated over the current situation and looking forward to the management issues being addressed in time for the 2009 trekking period. Sutherland replied that ‘it would not hurt them to have to wait another year’! It was clear he was not across the issue.

Irwin was a Port Moresby based Canberra official on a secure aid-funded salary. He had made no attempt to consult with professional tour companies to gain an insight into the reality of a management system based on the ‘law of the jungle’.

Irwin was followed by an influx of environment officials with no previous experience with PNG, Melanesian culture, military history, pilgrimage tourism, or commercial enterprise. It was soon clear they had arrived to manage the environment at the expense of pilgrimage tourism.

Their appointments were welcomed as Kokoda tour operators were crying out for some order to the chaos on the Trail where the ‘law of the jungle’ prevailed.

Our expectations were short lived as it soon became clear they had no idea of business management, tourism, pilgrimage or any previous association with PNG or the Melanesian Way.

On 15 February 2009, Annette Dean’s first email advised:

‘Greetings to all trek operators from the new Kokoda Track Authority management.
‘It is a challenging but positive time for the KTA, as we work with our new board of management to ensure that trekking (and trekking finances) on the Kokoda Track are well managed and that we provide strategic assistance to the villages on the Kokoda Track.  We hope that in the future we have a world class ecotourism destination, whilst ensuring that walking the track continues to be a unique and challenging experience.‘
We do ask for your patience during our current setting up phase.’

She went on to advise:

‘Ward Development Groups‘KTA is now establishing local Ward Development Groups for the distribution of trek fees to assist villagers.  We are developing a constitution for these committees, which will include guidelines on how money may be spent – to include personal assistance (such as school fees), community assistance, and ecotourism business assistance.  We are obviously under pressure to set these groups up quickly, and these guidelines may be reviewed in the future.
‘Despite being flooded with demands, we are no longer funding individual requests for assistance from landowners.  Our board has made the decision that we only provide assistance through the Ward Development Groups.  This is the first step in developing a system of ensuring that our assistance is given strategically, and that villagers themselves decide how they would like funding assistance spent.‘2009 trekking season‘ Trekking fees are vitally important for the funding of our Ward Development Groups, track maintenance and other operational expenses.
‘ We would appreciate payment of 2008 trek fees to help us deal with the urgent management issues relating to the track.  The new management is now working within a tight budget.  At this stage we have no funding from the PNG government.’

In the meantime no attempts were made by Annette Dean or Silas Sutherland to consult with Kokoda tour operators who had been operating across the Kokoda Trail over the previous 17 years and no information was forthcoming regarding plans for the forthcoming trekking season. Her major concern seemed to be related to her personal safety when walking to and from her carpark to her office each day.

Her appointment was obviously an outcome of a selection process which did not appreciate the reality of the PNG working environment for women.

She was reassigned to Australia after a couple of months of non-productivity.

On her return to Australia she made unsubstantiated and somewhat outrageous statements in the Australian media – most likely to cover her own shortcomings.

The Examiner newspaper reported:

‘DEATH threats, corruption and demands for money were daily challenges for Annette Dean in Papua New Guinea as Kokoda Track Authority chief executive. Mrs Dean, of Blackwall, on the West Tamar, returned on Thursday from five months in PNG in charge of the track made famous by Australian soldiers during World War II.
‘Mrs Dean was recruited last year to assist the PNG Government counter what is claimed was a degree of mismanagement and corruption in the authority.‘Before she got to Kokoda money was going to corrupt board members and others in Port Moresby instead of being spent on track upgrades or local communities.
‘But not all changes were accepted by staff with one, a convicted murderer, making threats against her life. “He was six foot four (190cm) and built like a sumo wrestler, and he was demanding compensation for losing his job,” she said.
‘In another incident, an angry landowner tried to attack her in her car. “I needed my own special security guard to escort me from the office to where my car was,” she said.
‘Mrs Dean was one of two Australians to head the authority, which trained locals and converted the authority into a sustainable organisation over 15 months. “One of the reasons I was asked to work in PNG was because of my background in managing walking tracks,” she said. Mrs Dean had worked for years on various Tasmanian tracks and said it was great preparation for her time at Kokoda.
“Kokoda is similar to the tracks in Tasmania as it has the same issues of high rainfall and steep terrain, which causes high levels of erosion,” she said. Working with local Aboriginal communities in western NSW also helped in her approach to the job.
‘Mrs Dean was chief executive in April when two Australians died on the track but said the authority did not play a direct role with the private tour groups. However, they have been working in setting up a much better regulated system that registers well-prepared and qualified companies.
“People need to do their research and find a company which carries things such as a satellite phone, first-aid kit and are well trained,” she said.
‘Some of the most rewarding parts of her time in PNG were working with and gaining strong relationships and support from the local communities and attending the Anzac service in Isurava, she said. Despite the hardships and challenges Mrs Dean said her time in Kokoda was rewarding and she intends to return later in the year.
’In an interview with Felicity Ogilive on ABC radio she reported:
‘My position was as CEO handing over to another person who has taken over that role of CEO of the Kokoda Track Authority. However, it was an extremely challenging situation to be in and in PNG when you are in a situation where you are having to sack staff, deal with fraud and corruption issues as well, you know, my personal safety was compromised while I was over there and so it was a good thing for me to have made those major changes in setting up a really, what we now have an efficient system in the way the KTA is being run and very, very strict financial procedures.’

It is clear from these interviews that Mrs. Dean sought to cover her own inadequacies as CEO with unsubstantiated statements. For example:

• I have never met any PNG official as tall as ‘six foot four (190cm) built like a sumo wrestler’ who was also a ‘convicted murderer’ working in the KTA office;
• There were no staff employed at the time Ms Dean commenced her assignment – it is therefore assumed that if she did have to sack anybody it would be somebody she would have employed. ‘Finish pay’ or compensation is also a common practice for PNG workers who lose their jobs.
• One should be sceptical about the claim of a landowner ‘attacking her car’. If this was the case there would have been some history between her and the landowner.
• Ms Dean was only engaged as CEO for about five months – her statement regarding the ‘training of locals and converting the authority in a sustainable organisation over 15 months’ is therefore not true.
• Ms Dean’s claim regarding ‘working with and gaining strong relationships and support from the local communities’ is clearly not true – she did not walk across the Trail to meet with them and was not in the position long enough to establish any form of relationship with the ‘Melanesian Way’.
• ‘. . . and so it was a good thing for me to have made those major changes in setting up a really, what we now have an efficient system in the way the KTA is being run and very, very strict financial procedures.’ This is pure fantasy. Ms Dean did not establish a single management system and she never produced a financial report – indeed, the KTA has never produced an Annual Financial Report since 2009 so nobody has any idea where the $5 million (K12 million) collected in trek permit fees has gone.

Warren Bartlett, former CEO of the Kokoda Track Authority later wrote:

‘I did not have much to do with Annette Dean apart from accompanying her on a couple of visits to inspect alternative office space to the Brian Bell building where she was fearful of having to walk to the carpark. She preferred a larger office to accommodate more staff which had views of Fairfax Harbour. We also inspected a vacant office space above Westpac at Waigani (formerly owned by Cardno) for K20,000 + GST.
‘No such luck, but her replacement CEO negotiated with Brian Bell Property Manager to relocate upstairs for some K10,000 per month compared to the previous rent of K4,000 per month.’

Annette Dean left PNG without seeking advice from major tour companies who had been leading treks across for the previous 17 years – some din’t know she had been until after she left!

The Rod Hillman Era of Mismanagement

Rod Hillman was appointed by Canberra to replace Annette Dean.

Hillman also had no previous experience in PNG, military heritage or pilgrimage tourism and did not demonstrate any understanding of commercial business management.

Rather than trek across the Kokoda Trail to gain an understanding of the pilgrimage, to meet village-based landowers, to view the physical condition of the Trail and to assess the condition of the campsites across it he chose to adopt the bureaucratic model of conducting meetings, forums and workshops and claim ‘consensus’ for his desired outcomes.

He failed to appreciate that Kokoda tour companies are commercial competitors and not government agencies – they are therefore unlikely to share information that would benefit their competitors at forums and workshops.  The reason they attended was to glean information – not to share it!

Hillman failed to introduce a single management system or protocol into Kokoda tourism – no campsite booking system, no database management system, no trail management system, etc. despite a 10-fold increase in staff and a multi-million budget.

When Hillman learned he was required to engage a PNG ‘counterpart CEO’ in order to satisfy the requirements for his work permit he chose James Enage from the Prime Minister’s Office. Enage was an arts graduate from the University of Papua New Guinea and a landowner from the Kokoda Trail. He had no previous commercial business experience or qualifications.

Hillman did not provide Enage with any management training or development during his tenure as CEO. Nor did he put any commercial management systems in place for Kokoda tourism.

Enage was patronised with visits to Australia with his wife and children and given VIP status at various locations – as a result he was never going to rock his paymasters boat and challenge the status quo.

As a landowner across the Trail he was subject to wan-tok pressures which are a normal part of Melanesian society but which Hillman had no understanding of.

By the time Hillman handed over the reins to his ‘counterpart CEO’ he left him with the responsibility  of dealing with National, Provincial and Local Level Government officials, almost 80 Kokoda tour companies, hundreds of landowners and patronising Australian environment officials – but no qualified staff or management tools to assist him.

During Hillman’s tenure as CEO trekker numbers fell by 36 percent from a peak of 5621 in 2008 to 3597 in 2012.

Not one of the 7 key strategies or 33 objectives in the ‘KTA Strategic Plan: 2012-2015 he developed was achieved.

A review of the newsletters published by Hillman during his term as CEO shows that his office operated in a parallel universe to the reality of conducting trekking operations across the Trail. Most of his announcements never came to fruition but it never mattered because there was no mechanism for holding him accountable.

A review of extracts from KTA newsletters published by Rod Hillman during his tenure from 2009-2012 are published at Appendix 1 below.

A 2013 review of outcomes of resolutions from KTA forums held in 2012 are listed in Appendix 2 below. They show that no meaningful outcomes were achieved.

According to Hillman’s self-description of his job on his Linkedin Profile:

‘A decision was made by the Australian and PNG Governments to support the Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) as a part of a greater exercise to bring certainty to the future of the Kokoda Track and benefits to the local communities and PNG as a whole. A key element of this support was the funding, by the Australian Government, of the role of Chief Executive to provide direction, management, mentoring and to rebuild trust with all its stakeholders after a turbulent period where the entire previous Board and Management was replaced.
‘My role has been to re-establish the organisation, build a culture of accountability, good governance and trust and to develop its associated systems, staffing structure, relationships (including with the PNG and Australian Governments), local community and tour operators. The key has been to rebuild trust with the stakeholders and to then maintain this trust.
‘The organisation is now in a position where the main stakeholders have been engaged, financial and administrative processes and policies are in place, the Board of Management functions appropriately, a new staff structure has been implemented, tour operator licensing has been introduced, funding Agreements have been acquitted and local staff have taken over the management roles. I now fulfill the role of an Advisor providing mentoring support.
‘A clear demonstration of trust and confidence others now place in the KTA is that major contracts have been gained such as the delivery of the Safety Package ($4.2M), Livelihoods project ($1.2M) and Project Management of the Variata National Park redevelopment.’

Rather than ‘build trust’ as claimed he built a wall of secrecy and mistrust around his operation. He negotiated confidential deals with rogue tour companies which gave them a financial advantage over those who complied with the requirement to pay the full amount owing for trek permit fees. He failed to publish any annual financial reports. He failed to prosecute corrupt officials. He failed to distribute Annual Reports to key stakeholders.

The Mark Nizette Era of Influence

In 2011, the Acting Assistant Secretary, International Heritage and Policy Branch, Mark Nizette was assigned from Canberra to Port Moresby. He took up office as an ‘management advisor’ with the DFAT funded ‘Kokoda Initiative’ in the Department of Environment and Conservation which was later rebadged as the Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA).

A change in Government in 2012 saw former Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Deputy Prime Minister, The Hon John Pundari MP, sworn in as Minister for Environment and Conservation.

Pundari was one of the most influential members of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s new government.

Since his election to the PNG Parliament in 1992 Pundari had created an extensive business empire which included more than 30 private companies. One of those, Millenium Guards, was reported as ‘employing 1,780 people in 2015 and had net assets of over K22 million’. Among Millennium’s clients were Malaysian logging giant, Rimbunan Hijau.

It is not known if Mark Nizette reported this apparent conflict of interest to DFAT or whether he turned a blind eye to it.

Soon after, Pundari appointed a ‘Ministerial Kokoda Initiative Committee’ within CEPA and appointed Nizette as secretary. This placed Nizette in an influential position as no other members of the committee had trekked across the Trail with a group of trekkers to better understand the significance of the pilgrimage. His influence would also be enhanced by the knowledge that he would be involved in the approval process for aid-funded projects across the Trail in his capacity as a DFAT ‘management advisor’.

At the same time the Board of the Kokoda Track Authority appointed by the Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs withered on the vine as they did not have the expertise or the funding to execute their responsibilities regarding Kokoda tourism. They were also tainted by allegations of corruption.

In the meantime the role of the Tourism Promotion Authority was unofficially relegated to membership of Pundari’s Kokoda Initiative – their Minister was no match for the influence exercised by Pundari and Nizette.

DFAT officials ignored their responsibility to assist PNG in rationalising the legal demarcation between the Minister’s for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs;  Environment, Conservation and Climate Change; and Tourism, Arts and Culture regarding pilgrimage tourism across the Kokoda Trail.

The result has been a 42% fall in pilgrimage tourism since DEWHA officials assumed responsibility for the Kokoda Trail in 2009.

The significance of ‘military heritage’ across the Trail was further reduced when DEWHA was rebadged as the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and  Communities (DSEWPC) – ‘Heritage’ was removed from the title and the First Assistant Secretary we had been dealing with, James Shelvin, moved on.

Under DEWHA/DPEWPC management the KTA enjoyed a 10-fold increase in staff and a multi-million dollar budget via the DFAT Kokoda Initiative to manage Kokoda tourism. But rather than getting out onto the Trail with professional tour companies to gain an understanding of trekkers aspirations and the needs of guides, carriers, campsite owners, and villagers they chose to lock themselves within their Port Moresby offices and conduct meetings and forums to ‘build capacity’, develop ‘mentoring programs’, look at ‘gender equity’ issues, and follow the dictates of Canberra regarding ill-conceived ‘village livelihoods’ type projects.

The needs of the pioneering tour companies for basic management systems to support villagers to develop campsites; to allow operators to book them in advance; to manage trek itineraries; to maintain the Trail; to introduce micro-business initiatives for landowners; and to identify, restore and interpret historic battlesites were ignored.

The law of the jungle therefore continued to prevail which resulted in bitter disputes along the Trail as different trek groups with a combined total of up to 50-60 trekkers would arrive at a campsite with a capacity for 15-20! Some rogue trek groups did not supply enough meals for their trekkers and PNG guides. Others did not have any trained medical staff or communications equipment which resulted in a couple of preventable deaths.

These experiences led to negative publicity and a dramatic fall in trekker numbers under the new Kokoda Initiative-CEPA-KTA regime.

In 2012 the Australian management contingent transferred responsibility for managing Kokoda tourism to their PNG counterparts who had no business management qualifications or experience. They had not received any management training and were not even left with a database management program to help them run the operation.

All they inherited was a glossy ‘Kokoda Track Strategic Plan: 2012-2015’ – it was no surprise that not one of the five key strategies or 33 objectives was achieved during that period.

Their plan has since been quietly shelved and no attempt has been made to revisit the topic since then.

The needs of the pioneering trek operators for basic management systems to support villagers to develop campsites, to allow operators to book them in advance, to manage trek itineraries, to maintain the Trail, to introduce micro-business initiatives for landowners, and to identify, restore and interpret historic battlesites were ignored.

The law of the jungle therefore continued to prevail which resulted in bitter disputes along the Trail as different trek groups with a combined total of up to 50-60 trekkers would arrive at a campsite with a capacity for 15-20! Some rogue trek groups did not supply enough meals for their trekkers and PNG guides. Others did not have any trained medical staff or communications equipment which resulted in a couple of preventable deaths.

These experiences led to negative publicity and a serious decline in trekker numbers under the new Kokoda Initiative-CEPA-KTA regime.

In 2012 the Australian management contingent transferred responsibility for managing Kokoda tourism to their PNG counterparts who had no business management qualifications or experience. They had not received any management training and were not even left with a database management program to help them run the operation.

All they inherited was a glossy ‘Kokoda Track Strategic Plan: 2012-2015’. It was no surprise that not one of the five key strategies or 33 objectives was achieved during that period.

Their plan has since been quietly shelved and no attempt has been made to revisit the topic since then.

Relevant Links:

• Mark Nizette MBE: Strategic advisor or foreign influencer?

World Heritage Listing Fallacy

The 2009 Joint Understanding sought to ensure ‘the World Heritage values of the Kokoda Track and Owen Stanley Ranges are understood and, where appropriate, protected’ – a key feature of the Joint Understanding related to the Brown River catchment which was identified as ‘a future water and power supply opportunity for Port Moresby.’

DEWHA officials were therefore dispatched to PNG to assist in implementing their objectives within the Joint Understanding.

While they were engaging consultants, facilitating meetings, organising forums and conducting workshops a Chinese investor built a $280 million dam on the Brown River as part of the Edevu Hydro Power Project – this effectively solved the problem identified in the Joint Understanding.

Then in 2015 an expert report from the late Dr. Peter Hitchcock and Dr. Jennifer Gabriel revealed that the Kokoda Trail did not meet the criteria for a World Heritage listing.

Rather than refocus on military heritage Australian environment officials within the DFAT Kokoda initiative scrambled to realign their strategy towards establishing an ‘Interim Protection Zone’ to have it declared as a ‘protected area’.

This was motivated by the need to protect their own aid-funded careers as an earlier RAPPAM report that the Kokoda Trail faced a low degree of environmental threat while offering an opportunity of an income stream for village communities.

Relevant Links:

• The fallacy of World Heritage on the Kokoda Trail
• Edevu Hydro Power Project

Conflict between Environment and Pilgrimage Tourism

It is worth noting that a 2006  ‘Rapid Assessment and Prioritisation of Protected Area Management’ (RAPPAM) report, compiled by the Department of Environment and Conservation, the PNG Forestry Authority, the Research and Conservation Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and the Village Development Trust advised:

‘Many of the areas with high socio-economic importance are facing a relatively low degree of threat (Kokoda, Wiad, Pirung).‘Areas like Lihir, Tonda, and Bagiai are exceptions to this rule and hence require more efforts to protect them from the variety of threats they are currently facing.’

If this is the case it begs the question as to why the Kokoda Initiative isn’t doing its job through the Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) and focusing on priority areas facing a higher degree of environmental threat such as Lihir, Tonda, and Bagiai.

It’s also worth noting that a recent attempt by the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative to have the Kokoda Trail listed as a World Heritage Site was unsuccessful after an expert on World Heritage, Dr Peter Hitchcock, revealed it did not meet the international criteria for such a listing.

A more recent report in 2018 regarding an ‘Assessment for the Management Effectiveness for Papua New Guinea’s Protected Areas’ advised:

‘Two major, largen Pas (Tonda and Maza WMAs rated as only in fair condition, due to multiple threats and lack of law enforcement capacity.’

The latest attempt to wrest control of the Kokoda Trail seems to reflect a desire to create an aid-funded environment empire in PNG. The proposed ‘Kokoda Track Management Authority’ (KTMA) Act developed by the Kokoda Initiative Strategic Advisor, Mr. Mark Nizette MBE will sit beside the ‘Climate Change and Development Authority’ within the Conservation Environment Protection Authority.

Mark Nizette’s proposed KTMA Bill will represent a suicide note for pilgrimage tourism across the Kokoda Trail if it is approved by the PNG Government.

Relevant Links:

• Rapid Assessment and Prioritisation of Protection Area Management (RAPPAM) Report
• Fallacy of a World Heritage Listing for the Kokoda Trail
• Assessment for the Management Effictiveness for Papua New Guinea’s Protected Areas
• Climate Change and Development Authority
• Conservation Environment Protection Authority
• Proposed Kokoda Track Management Authority (KTMA) Act
• KTMA Bill – A Suicide Note for Kokoda Tourism

Decline in Trekker Numbers

Since the Australian Government assumed responsibility for the Kokoda Trail in 2009 under the terms of the Joint Understanding signed in 2008, the number of Australians trekking across it has almost halved despite a 10-fold increase in staff and a multi-million aid-budget.

The primary reason for the fall is the Kokoda Initiative-CEPA focus on social-environment issues rather than assisting PNG to manage their most popular tourism destination as a tourism enterprise for the economic benefit of traditional landowner communities. This is evident in the 2019 Kokoda Initiative Annual Report which is a betrayal of our Kokoda legacy.

Relevant Links:

• 2019 Kokoda Initiative Annual Report-A Betrayal of our Kokoda Legacy
• The Kokoda Trail: Chronology of Mismanagement: 2009-2024
• Database Evaluation of Kokoda Tourism: 2003-2019

Increase in Illegal Kokoda Tour Companies

According to PNG Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) records, Adventure Kokoda Pty Ltd, is the only Australian Kokoda tour company to have fully complied with their IPA Act since 2004.

Compliance costs and taxation obligations have placed the company at a serious financial disadvantage compared to those who do not comply.

Kokoda Initiative-CEPA-KTA have turned a blind eye to the proliferation of illegal Kokoda tour companies who flout their law. The KTA has continued to issue licenses in breach of their own ‘Kokoda Tour Operators Conditions 2012’.

Illegal tour operators have therefore been easily able to avoid their taxation obligations in PNG.

Unlawful Cancellation of Adventure Kokoda Tour Operator’s Licence

Our attempts to address the inept management of Kokoda tourism since the Acting CEO, Julius Wargari, was appointed five years ago led to the cancellation of our Adventure Kokoda tour operators license by the Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change on 26 April 2023.

Wargari was seconded to the Kokoda Track Authority in an Acting capacity from the Department of Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs to manage Kokoda tourism in November 2018.

He had no commercial business qualifications and no previous experience in tourism, trekking or pilgrimage. He has remained in the role in an Acting capacity for five years despite an assurance from Minister Pundari that a ‘permanent replacement would be recruited following the review into the KTA’.

Since then the Minister has moved on.

The KTA Review was published on 4 July 2018 but no action has since been taken to appoint a permanent CEO with business management qualifications.

As a result Mr. Wargari has remained in a position he is completely unqualified for.

Since then we have sighted an opinion from the PNG Solicitor General that his appointment is invalid. It is certainly doubtful that his reappointment would have been approved by the National Executive Council every three months as is required by the Public Service Act.

The process leading to the cancellation of our license took their ineptness to a new level:

• The Minister does not have any legal jurisdiction over the management of the Kokoda Trail – this rests with the Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs.
• The Acting CEO who advised the Minister’s ‘Kokoda Initiative Committee’ to cancel our license for our alleged non-payment of trek permit fees was paid in full for all our Anzac treks on 15 and 16 April 2023 – his office staff issued receipts for all payments on 17 April 2023. Payment and receipt details are included on this link: Adventure Kokoda Tour Operators License Update.
• The payments were in accordance with the Koiari and Kokoda Track Local-Level Government Trek Permit Laws 2005.
• Sometime during the following week Mr. Wargari advised the Minister’s Kokoda Initiative Committee that we had not paid for our trek permit fees despite having possession of the four cheques we presented to him.
• For reasons unknown, the Acting CEO did not present the cheques to the bank for deposit for a further two months – on 13 June 2023.

On 14 December 2023 the PNG National Court found that the Minister’s decision to cancel our licence was unlawful and granted costs to Adventure Kokoda.

This should be the catalyst for a change in the management structure for Kokoda tourism and the sacking of those officials who were a party to the attempt to put Adventure Kokoda out of business.

Relevant Links:

• Adventure Kokoda Tour Operator’s License Update!
• Adventure Kokoda licence restored by PNG National Court
• PNG National Court Judgement re Restoration of Adventure Kokoda Tour Operator License

The Way Forward

PNG now has a choice – it can continue to run the Kokoda Trail as an aid-funded environment park with a Third-World management system that provides short term benefits for a few – or it can seek to realize its potential as a world-class pilgrimage tourism destination for the economic benefit of the people who own the land across it.

Should it choose to realize its potential it will be necessary to run it as a commercial tourism enterprise for the economic benefit of traditional landowner communities in accordance with the following link:

• Kokoda Tourism: The Way Ahead

Conclusion

When I first trekked Kokoda in 1991 local villagers across the Trail earned zero income as only a small number of Australians trekked across it each year.

Trek groups carried their own dehydrated food and usually engaged a couple of local guides to support them.  There was no organization in place to manage it; no fees were payable; and there was no economic benefit for subsistence villagers.

Since then, more than 65,000 Australians from all walks of life have trekked across it.

Research has revealed they are motivated by the military heritage of the Trail along with the physical and emotional challenge it presents. It is a unique pilgrimage in this regard.

This has generated approximately $250 million (K570 million) in tourism revenue for PNG airlines, hotels, transport, supermarkets, camping stores, employment of guides and carriers, campsite owners and villages. wages, campsite fees and local services.

Kokoda trek operators have paid more than $5 million (K12 million) in trek fees to the PNG Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority (KTA).

Philanthropic donations of trekkers personal clothing, boots, medical and school supplies along with camping gear would amount to a further $5 million (K12 million) in hidden benefits. For example, when trekking began in 1992 none of the guides or carriers owned a pair of boots – today they all have high value trekking boots valued at up to $450 (K1000) a pair which have been donated to them.

The value of positive publicity for PNG from television documentaries, newspaper articles, and social media reports would be tens of millions of dollars.

However, since Canberra assumed responsibility for the management of the Kokoda Trail via the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative, the PNG Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), and the Kokoda Track (Special Purpose) Authority in 2009, trekker numbers have fallen by 42%.

This has resulted in a cumulative loss in the region of $20 million (K46 million) in foregone wages, campsite fees and local purchase for subsistence villagers across the Trail.

Responsibility for the current situation rests squarely with Canberra funded Kokoda Initiative officials who have used the term ‘Kokoda’ to give relevance to an environmental agenda which has resulted in a decline of 46% since they assumed responsibility for the management of the Kokoda Trail in 2009.

The identification of village-based landowners should have been their most fundamental priority along with the conduct of village-based workshops. Their failure to address these two priority areas has denied village-based landowners a voice in their own affairs and contributed to the current situation.

They have clearly failed in their responsibility to ‘keep the track open, safe and preserved as shared heritage’ under the provisions of the Joint Agreement signed in 2015.

The fall in trekker numbers is primarily because the DFAT Kokoda Initiative and CEPA have failed to invest in any military heritage sites to enhance the value of the pilgrimage for international tourists since they assumed responsibility for it in 2009.

They have also failed to introduce any management protocols for Kokoda tourism. The ‘law of the jungle’ prevails along the Trail as trek groups have heated clashes over campsites that do not have the capacity to meet demand.

After two decades in charge it is still not possible to book a campsite; there is no trek itinerary management system in place for groups; sections of the Trail remain dangerously unsafe; and there are no toilets which meet the most basic hygiene standards.

Canberra officials have also been in denial over the fact that the wartime history of the Kokoda Trail is the major reason Australians choose to trek across it. This is evident in their failure to invest in a single significant military heritage site since they assumed responsibility for its management in 2009.

Canberra’s priority on environment over pilgrimage tourism is also puzzling given that the Owen Stanley Ranges have not been assessed by the international Rapid Assessment and Prioritisation of Protected Area Management’ to be under any form of environmental threat.

Local villagers have been disenfranchised as no micro-business programs have been introduced to assist them to earn additional income by meeting the needs of trekkers.

Villagers also have a sense of isolation from Kokoda tourism as they have never been taught how to earn additional income by providing services to meet the needs of trekkers. They are therefore mere spectators to a passing parade of trekkers.  These issues have been well canvassed in the past but ignored.

Covid provided an opportunity for the DFAT-Kokoda Initiative, CEPA and the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) to review the reasons behind the rise and fall of Kokoda tourism under their watch since 2009.

The engagement of anthropologists, archaeologists and environmentalists to search for ‘objects’ across the trail has no relevance to the development of a pilgrimage tourism industry.

The engagement of an American anthropologist as Australia’s National Military Heritage Advisor in in PNG in preference to an accredited Australian Military Heritage Architect to develop a Military Heritage Master Plan for the Kokoda Trail continues to limit its potential as a World Class pilgrimage tourism destination for international trekkers.

The failure to develop a database of trekkers has severely limited the opportunity to raise a significant amount of money each year for charitable causes in Central and Oro Province.

The failure to train local villagers to earn additional income from trekkers through the provision of services to meet their needs has deprived them of their rightful share of benefits from Kokoda tourism.

The failure to develop a Trek Itinerary Management System and a Campsite Booking System has limited the income earning opportunities for villagers along the trail as they have no idea who is arriving, or when, and are therefore unable to prepare goods and services to meet their needs and earn additional income..

The failure to protect the welfare of PNG guides and carriers engaged by illegal Kokoda tour operators is a serious breach of the Kokoda Track Authority’s ‘Duty of Care’ towards the people they are supposed to support and trek.

While Port Moresby based landowners now argue over the diminishing spoils of Kokoda tourism all other village-based communities across the Kokoda Trail are being denied jobs during the most popular trekking period of the year.

The PNG Government has a choice between allowing its most popular tourism destination to continue being managed as a foreign aid-funded environment park, or having it managed as a professional tourism enterprise for the economic benefit of village communities across the Trail.

Recommendations

• Canberra acknowledge that the primary reason Australians choose to trek across the Kokoda Trail is related to the military history of the Kokoda campaign;
• The PNG Government acquire the 20 metre wide,138 km Kokoda Trail between Owers Corner and Kokoda as gazetted in 1972 as a national tourism asset under the authority of the Land Act 1996 and the Lands Acquisition (Development Purposes) Act 1974.
• Australia rebadge the ‘Kokoda Initiative’ within the PNG Conservation Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) as the ‘Owen Stanley Ranges Initiative’ to reflect its role in environmental ‘Protected Area Management;
• Responsibility for oversight of the Kokoda Trail in Canberra be transferred from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to the Department of Veterans Affairs which is responsible for the Australian War Memorial and the Office of Australian War Graves.
• Responsibility for management of the Kokoda Trail in PNG be transferred from the Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs, and the influence of the Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change, to the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture.
• The physical boundaries of the Kokoda Initiative be redefined to include the Kokoda Trail between Sogeri and Kokoda, and the Kokoda Highway between Kokoda-Popondetta-Buna- Gona-Sanananda.
• A Joint Agreement for the commemoration of our shared wartime heritage between Australia and PNG be developed with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority as the lead agencies.
• The proposed DFAT ‘Kokoda Track Management Authority’ (KTMA) Bill be disallowed.
• Australian provide funding for the following:
  • Development of a Joint Agreement for Military Heritage;
  • Development of a Military Heritage Master Plan for the Kokoda Trail;
  • Four (4) key management positions for the redefined Kokoda Initiative for a period of five (5) years;
  • Management systems for Kokoda Tourism (website, database, accounting, booking systems, trek itinerary management, Trail maintenance, campsite development, and village-based workshops.