The Kokoda Trail is a remote jungle track in the old Australia Territory of Papua New Guinea where Aussie Diggers and the Fuzzy Wuzzy Anglers battles desperately against Japanese invaders to save Australia in 1942. The Kokoda Trail campaign, fought out over six months and two days on a narrow front in appalling conditions, has become an honoured part of our Australian heritage.
But there is much more to the Kokoda Trail than this. Historian and adventurer Stuart Hawthorne looks back 130 years over the Trail's captivating past. He traces the explorers, gold seekers, missionaries and colonial officials who pushed this tiny foot pad across unbelievably harsh country to et out a fascinating account of the fortunes of this 96.4 kilometre track. Did you know a surveyor set out the route of the first Kokoda Trail before Kokoda even existed? Or why it's the Kokoda Trail, not Track? Or who gave the Trail's 'Golden Staircase' its name?
Thirty years in the making, 'The Kokoda Trail: A History' provides the first complete account of this sinuous little footpad that holds such an esteemed position in the Australian psyche. This book reveals for the first time that there is another, larger, history of the Kokoda Trail which is every bit as compelling and intriguing as the grim war years of 1942.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Maps
Part 1: Early Days: 1874-1899
1. First Steps (1874-1878)
2. Overland attempts (1878-1887)
3. Mount Victoria and the Mambrae (1888-1896)
4. Across New Guinea (1893-1896)
5. The Tamata uprising and its consequences (1897)
6. Surveying the route (1898-1899)
Part 2: Heyday: 1900-1938
7. The northern goldfields (1900-1905)
8. The Bunya-Yodda track (1905-1910)
9. Developing the southern end (1899-1914)
10. On the track (1906-1938)
11. The Port Moresby-Sogeri road (1912-1937)
12. The Buna-Kokoda road (1918-1933)
Part 3: Later Days: 1938-2000
13. Last days of peace (1938-1942)
14. On the track (Feb-Sep 1942)
15. Logistics problems (1942)
16. On the track (Sep 1942-Jan 1943)
17. Post-war developments (to 1992)
18. The track today
Selected bibliography
Index
Review:A fascinating insight into the turbulent history of the Trail, comprehensively illustrated with early photographs, and easily understood, sequential maps. Stuart Hawthorne displays a clear understanding based on his personal knowledge and experience. A definitive resource and a major contribution to the historical records - Brigadier Gordon Jones AM (retired) Extremely well researched ... a very readable and engrossing account of the most cherished Australian icons - Group Captain Greg Ison
Stuart Hawthorne has woven a tale that was most definitely worth telling, and he has done it well. The writing is crisp and clear ... Obviously the work of an experienced researcher, writer and historian with an intimate and long-term knowledge of the subject - Queensland Parliamentary Library Review
