History of The Kokoda Track
Brief History Of Kokoda
The Kokoda Track (or Trail) is not one single track, but is a series of tracks which local villagers used to move between one village and the next. They existed well before European settlement.
A gold rush in the Laloki River in 1878 and another in the Yodda Valley (Kokoda) in 1900 saw the need to establish overland communications from Port Moresby through to Kokoda. The first Europeans to travel across the Owen Stanley Ranges were Francis Barton and Charles Monckton in 1904, when they agreed to establish a mail service.
The official name of the route is Kokoda Trail, which was gazetted in 1972 by the Place Names Committee (Department of Lands) and was in accordance with the most widely used term in Australia at that time. In the post-1945 period, speaking about the 'Kokoda Track' was common in Papua New Guinea and still persists today, despite the official proclamation.
Historically, overland routes in Papua New Guinea have always been known as 'tracks'. This is not surprising due to Australia's long association with Papua New Guinea, and other routes across the country continue to retain the name 'track' to this day.
'Trail' became entrenched from its use in Australian newspapers by Australian journalists during the Second World War. The first appearance of "Kokoda Trail" as a two-term proper noun, was in Sydney's Daily Mirror of 27th October 1942.
World War II
On the 21 July 1942, Japanese forces landed on the north coast of Papua New Guinea and commenced their march across the Owen Stanley Ranges. Over the next couple of months, the Australian military made a fighting withdrawal, with places such as Kokoda, Isurava, Brigade Hill, Templeton's Crossing, Ioribaiwa, Imita Ridge and Owers' Corner are now etched into the memory of the Kokoda Track campaign.
Also on the 21 July 1942, B Company of the 39th (Militia) Battalion under the command of Captain Sam Templeton was the first Australian unit to cross over the track, with the guidance of Lieutenant Bert Kienzle. The war-time track used by the Australian military, in the main, was the old postal track, although many subsidiary tracks were also later established.
From September 1942 through to January 1943, the Japanese were eventually pushed back to their original landing areas and finally defeated.
This was the Kokoda Track campaign.