PMs trek Kokoda to mark Anzac Day

COVER STORY

By GYNNIE KERO
THOSE who walked before us planted the seed of unity!”
Prime Minister James Marape was referring to the sacrifices made by Anzac soldiers including PNG’s volunteers, better known as “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels”, who contributed to war efforts as carriers of war supplies and wounded soldiers to care and recovery.
Marape and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese walked the Kokoda Track for two days, starting at the Kokoda station on Tuesday. They spent the first night at Deniki.
Albanese and Marape spent the last night at Isurava.

Early Thursday morning, they commemorated the Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day at the Isurava Memorial Site with a dawn service.
April 25, Anzac Day, is the annual National Day of Commemoration in Australia and New Zealand to remember victims of war.
Both men reflected on the suffering and sacrifice of Australian troops at the site of one of the fiercest battles fought by Australians during the Second World War.
“May the Spirit of Anzac, underscored by the bravery and courage these young men exhibited and the mateship that grew between them and our Pacific and PNG carriers, never be forgotten,” he said.

The small village of Isurava was the site of one of several desperate battles fought by Australian and US troops during their retreat along the Kokoda Trail between July and November 1942.
The Kokoda Track runs across the hills and mountains of Papua New Guinea. And the Australians who fought here repelled relentless attacks from the advancing Japanese forces despite being malnourished, exhausted and outnumbered.
Just walking the section between Kokoda and Isurava brings home the unforgiving terrain they faced.

Albanese said he was “truly humbled by the experience of walking in their footsteps alongside Marape.
“Participating in this walk is a solemn way to honour to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who walked this same ground, people from Papua New Guinea and Australia, serving and sacrificing together in defence of their home.
Marape who accompanied Albanese on the grueling 13-km walk from Kokoda station to Isurava said; “You (Albanese) said you will do Kokoda, and here you are. You are strong, resilient and determined.

According to historical records the Kokoda campaign was part of the Pacific World War 2 involving a series of battles fought and it lasted from July to November 1942, which involved 56,000 Australians. At least 625 Australians were killed and more than 1,600 were wounded along the Kokoda track.
It was during this time that Australian soldiers developed a deep relationship with what they referred to the war carriers as the ‘fuzzy wuzzy angels’ and who during the war were recruited as bring supplies to the front for the

Australian troops at the Kokoda trail.
At Isurava, along the Kokoda track is significant because it was at this location that the Australian troops were involved in a fierce battle with Japanese soldiers who planned an advance on Port Moresby. It was known as the Isurava battle in August 1942, that lasted for four days and inflicted heavy losses.
Marape has acknowledged the deepening relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia, saying it was at the highest it has ever been.
“The Australia-PNG relationship is at the highest. We have many relationships but there is no one closer to us than Australia.
“You can rest assured that the security of our two nations are deeply anchored in our shared past which is littered with much tears, sweat and sacrifice.”