Kokoda Trail History

1000 Words2 Pages

The Kokoda trail is a track through the Owen Stanley Range in New Guinea which was where some of the harshest and most significant fighting for Australia in World War Two took place. Australian troops were sent to Kokoda in order to defend the country against the Japanese and prevent them from capturing Port Moresby, where they could easily invade Australia and control the South Pacific. During World War Two, the Kokoda track campaign of 1942 significantly shaped Australia’s national identity because they continued the Anzac legend by enduring treacherous conditions, displaying courage and developing positive relationships with Papuan locals. During the Kokoda campaign, the conditions the soldiers were forced to endure were unpleasant and dangerous. …show more content…

This is shown through how the jungle warfare that took place at Kokoda was unfamiliar to the troops; the dense shrubbery hid enemies from sight, consequently forcing the soldier to constantly be on alert (Mason 2014, p. 175). This demonstrates the sheer bravery of the soldiers to persevere through these circumstances. Paul Ham, an Australian historian and journalist, corroborates this in Kokoda (2010) as he states that mental collapse was rare and only 10-25% of small hand and foot wounds were found to be intentional (Australian Government Department of Defence 2012). This reveals the strength of the soldiers in the face of heavy pain and grief. A soldier’s diary from the Kokoda track campaign provides a first-hand account of the time. Although biased to the Australian perspective, he provides a useful description of the warfare at Kokoda, stating, “bullets everywhere - hell on earth amongst the clouds” (State Library of Victoria 2018). The phrase ‘hell on earth’ evokes the sense that the warfare was abhorrent and horrific. This evidently displays the courage of the soldiers who persevered through the adversity they experienced. Moreover, an example of this courage is presented by the Victoria Cross quotation for Private Bruce Kingsbury, a soldier at Kokoda during World War Two, which states, “he rushed forward, firing the Bren Gun from his hip through terrible machine-gun fire and succeeded in clearing a path to the enemy. Continuing to sweep enemy positions with his fire and inflicting an extremely high number of casualties… then seen to fall to the ground shot dead” (Australian Government Department of Defence 2012). Kingsbury’s exhibit of initiative as he acts without thinking and blindly attacks, gaining significant progress for the Australians and ultimately making the greatest sacrifice, clearly demonstrates his immense bravery and courage as

Open Document