Kokoda Track

The Kokoda Track, (Papua New Guinea) is a well-known trail of 46 kilometres in length. A replica has been made in Melbourne, although it is not as long and is called 1000 steps, and is also a memorial trail. The Kokoda Track, in Papua New Guinea, was walked by Australian soldiers in WWII. They had to walk it for over two days in tough conditions. The Kokoda Track goes from Owers Corner to Wairopi, and they used it to get to their base in Port Morseby. KOKODA TRACK STORY The Australian soldiers walked for 50 hours, carrying all their belongings through mud, rain, wind and up hills. The people of Papua New Guinea assisted the soldiers on their journey, by carrying the soldiers when they were injured. The reason the soldiers needed to get to Port Morseby was because the Japanese soldiers had landed in Papua New Guinea, and were intent on taking over the Australian soldiers base. Port Morseby was also a town, with water and food supplies. This was another reason for the soldiers to protect it. If the Japanese were to succeed, mainland Australia would have been under threat. Overall 1680 soldiers were killed and over 600 wounded. Along the Kokoda Track, many of the soldiers that had died were buried. Although many soldiers died during the protection of Port Morseby, they had defended Australia and succeeded. They would always be remembered.