Kokoda : Kokoda

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Forced to repel a Japanese invasion force, which landed at Gona on the north coast of Papua on 21 July 1942, the Australians fought in appalling conditions over the next four months. 

The Australian veterans' accounts in Kokoda- Listen to these three Australian veteran stories.

The Second World War’s Kokoda campaign in Papua, fought between Australian and Japanese military forces from 21 July to 2 November 1942, is often compared to the First World War’s 1915 Gallipoli campaign. 

• Norm Ensor
• Bill Jenkins
• Fred Cassidy
• George Fetterplace & Bill Napper
• Henry Pearce
• Reg Markham
• Basil Catterns
• Jack Stevens
• Jim Bell
• Norm Pfoefer
• Don Oughtred
• Keith Irwin
• Bruce Edward Daniel Robertson
• Lloyd Birdsall & Doug Thompson

Notes: The interview numbers are consecutive, so to hear the veteran's complete story you should listen to the interviews in order. 

Map 1: PNG Kokoda Track (commissioned by the KTMW)

Map 2: Kokoda Trail Relief Map (courtesy of Charlie Lynn’s Adventure Kokoda Trek)

Map 3: Wartime map – Kokoda coast (source: Our Spirit Adventures)

Map 4: Wartime map – Templeton’s Crossing (source: Our Spirit Adventures)

Map 5: Wartime map – Nauro to Templeton’s Crossing (source: Our Spirit Adventures)

Map 6: Wartime map – Ilolo to Nauro (source: Our Spirit Adventures)

Map 7: Kokoda Track Plaque/Map (attached to Education Centre. Sculptor: Ross J. Bastiaan, Donor: Charlie Lynn OAM OL)

December 1941 – suddenly WWII arrives on Australia’s doorstep. This clip examines Japan’s entry to the war and its menacing impact on Australia’s strategic interests, advancing through Malaya, Singapore, Indonesia and New Guinea, where the now legendary story of Kokoda unfolded. Historical clips and insightful commentary by the ANU’s Professor David Horner provide an excellent resource for senior students of history.

From the corridors of power to the blood-stained battlefields of the Papua New Guinea highlands, Kokoda tells the story of the brutal World War II military campaign between Australia and Japan that changed the course of Australian history.

In late September 1942, things looked grim for the Australians fighting in Papua New Guinea. The Japanese army had advanced to Ioribaiwa Ridge just 40 kilometres from Port Moresby.
The Australian soldiers facing them on Imita Ridge believed they were the last line of defence of their homeland. If Port Moresby fell Australia could be taken out of the war.
The Australian counterattack would begin from here. It became a war fought utterly without mercy as the Japanese retreated for the first time in the Pacific war.
There was a savagery now that infected the minds of both armies, the only hope was to kill them before they killed you.
The diggers were striving to force the Japanese back along the track and into the sea; the Japanese had been reinforced and refused to relinquish their foothold in Papua New Guinea.

View the Australian War Memorial's collection of images, maps, documentation and manuscripts.

After the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the focus of the Pacific War moved closer to Australia. Japanese forces bombed Darwin and launched an attack over Papua’s Owen Stanley Ranges with a view to capturing Port Moresby.

The Kokoda Campaign, which took place during World War II, holds significant historical importance in Papua New Guinea. Situated in the Owen Stanley Range, this grueling battle involved Australian forces defending against the advancing Japanese army.

The Kokoda Campaign of World War Two was an important turning point in the conflict, as it was one of the first times that the Japanese army had been stopped on land since the beginning of the war.

The Kokoda campaign was a terrible introduction to the war for many people from Northern and Central Provinces. When this campaign ended, some people thought the war was over as well. But the fighting in Papua New Guinea went on until the Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945.  The people who were interviewed for this project have told stories of what happened as the war went on in other parts of Papua New Guinea like Morobe, Sepik, New Britain and Bougainville. They have also told stories about what it was like living alongside thousands of Australian and American soldiers for all that time.