Many Battles were fought on the Kokoda Trail. Australian and Japanese soldiers died fighting on the track, so these are significant places for both countries.

There are many significant sites on the Kokoda Track from the battles between the Japanese and Australians that ranged across this track during World War Two in 1942.

The Kokoda Track traverses the Owen Stanley Ranges in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Owers Corner

The track starts at Owers Corner. It has the distinctive commemorative structure common in many trekker’s photographs.

Brigade Hill

Australians tried to slow the Japanese advance at Brigade Hill. They dug in along a ridge above the track, but the Japanese climbed an almost vertical slope and overran them. The soldiers called the area Butcher’s Hill due to the horrific deaths at the site.

Myola

The Myola Lakes are a flat expanse of marshy, grassy area. The airforce used these areas to supply Australian soldiers. The planes couldn’t land, so equipment was pushed out of low flying planes. Called “biscuit bombing”, a large amount of the supplies burst on impact. Some soldiers were hit and killed.

Mt Bellamy

Mt Bellamy is the highest point on the track at 2190 metres. Close to Mt Bellamy is the Kokoda Gap. This is a gap in the range about 15 kilometres across. During the war army chiefs in Australia incorrectly assumed the Japanese couldn’t get past this ‘gap’.

Eora Creek and Templeton

Eora Creek is a huge body of water roaring down the valley in a cascading conglomeration of boulders and waterfalls. A number of Eora Creek crossings were named after Captain Sam Templeton. Templeton’s Crossing is quite some distance from where Templeton was killed. The track that trekkers follow does not pass through the area where he disappeared.

Isurava

At Isurava village the Australians took a stand against the Japanese. But the Japanese force was too strong.

In 2002 the Australian and PNG Governments erected a memorial at Isurava. It is maintained by the local villagers, with assistance from the Australian Government.

The Memorial has four polished granite obelisk with one word on each that captures the spirit of the soldiers that fought on the track:

COURAGE ENDURANCE MATESHIP SACRIFICE

Many trekkers visiting the memorial relate to these four words after own personal campaign across the Kokoda Track.

Bruce Kingsbury

Close to the Isurava memorial is another commemorative for possibly the most famous soldier from the campaign – Bruce Kingsbury. He was the first Australian to earn the Victoria Cross on Australian soil (PNG being an Australian protectorate at the time).

The Aussies were dug in at Isurava and taking a battering from the Japanese. Kingsbury picked up a Bren gun and ran into an attacking horde of Japanese. He saved his mates, and killed a number of Japanese, but was shot dead by a sniper.

Kokoda Town

Kokoda is a small town about 70 kilometres from the northern side of the PNG coast. It was a strategic site during the war as it had an airstrip; a magnet for both sides.

There are a number of memorials in the town dedicated to the Australians, Japanese and the local Papuans. A small museum contains some relics as well as a range of photos and testimonies to the Kokoda campaign.

Bomana War Cemetery

The Bomana War Cemetery is a short drive out of Port Moresby. It is laid out with large memorials at both ends of a gentle, grassed slope and contains around 3,800 headstones (around 700 unknown) dedicated to the Australian and PNG soldiers that gave their lives during the campaign.

A trek across the Kokoda Track visits all these sites. The following articles contain information for hikers intending to trek the Kokoda Trail.

Tips for Hiking the Kokoda Track

Questions About the Kokoda Track

Logistics of Trekking the Kokoda Track

Kokoda Track Wartime History