Lost Kokoda battlefields have never been lost!
Interest in the trekking Kokoda during the 70th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign in 2012 is growing. As a result of this we are receiving many queries about ‘lost’ battlefields along the Kokoda Trail.
Whilst the Kokoda Trail has been a neglected shrine since the end of the war in 1945 none of the battlefields have ever been ‘lost’. Some had been reclaimed by the jungle and others had been bypassed with the relocation of wartime villages to their current locations.
Official Royal Australian Army Survey Corps maps published in 1978 identify the wartime routes of the Kokoda Trail and the wartime village locations. We confirmed the battlesites of Brigade Hill in 1992 and Isurava in 1996 using GPS devices and cross-checking the date with the Royal Australian Army Survey Corps Maps.
There was much recent publicity over the ‘discovery’ of a lost battlefield at Eora Creek. This was more a staged media event than an actual ‘discovery’. Early trek operators who had been conducting treks across the Kokoda Trail for more than a decade before the boom in trekker numbers and trek operators have been visiting the Eora Creek battle-site since they began their operations.
Adventure Kokoda not only visits all of the wartime battlesites our trek leaders also give tactical briefings which present the principles applicable to the defence of each site. This inevitably leads to much discussion amongst members of our groups as the situation our troops faced in 1942 unfolds.
Adventure Kokoda treks also follow the original wartime Kokoda Trail as identified by the Royal Australian Army Survey Corps. As a result we have rarely see the large numbers of trekkers who use the more popular eco-track.
Major Charlie Lynn established Adventure Kokoda and has led 59 expeditions across Kokoda since 20 years. During this time he has established close relations with the Kioari and Orokaiva people who live in villages along the Track. Charlie is committed to the legacy of Kokoda which is about commemorating the deeds of our veterans. For more information on Kokoda Track take a quick look at www.kokodatreks.com
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