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Blake Wetherall – History Making Trek
28/11/2008
Chancellor State College Secondary Campus Newsletter
Year 9 student Blake Wetherall has
just completed with his father, Wayne, the very first
history making trek by bike and foot from the North Coast of
PNG across the Kokoda Track and down to Port Moresby. The
trek and ride started at the North Coast, coastal village of
Buna on the Solomon Sea. Buna was the scene of bitter
fighting with the Japanese during the Kokoda Track campaign.
The bike leg from Buna to Kokoda was 120 kms over rough and
muddy ground taking over 9hours. They then took just 4 days
to cover the 96km from Kokoda to Owers Corner. Their journey
finished on Remembrance Day on the South Coast of PNG at Ela
Beach in Port Moresby. The Journey covered over 285 km of
the roughest and toughest terrain including the famous
Kokoda Track, testing not only their physical capabilities
but their mental and spiritual toughness. Normal treks
across just the Kokoda Track take 9 days but the team
slashed over 5 days of the regular trekking itineraries plus
added the extra riding part!
This unique journey was to honour the memory of the gallant
men who fought along the Kokoda Track and the battles along
the beach heads of PNG, and to bring awareness to the legend
of Kokoda and to raise funds for their Spirit Foundation
which supports medical and education programs across the
entire track.
Well done, Blake.
Health facility in PNG's Kokoda Track
resumes operation
Updated November 20, 2008 09:11:58
ABC News/Radio Australia
A health clinic on the Kokoda
Track in Papua New Guinea has reopened, as part of
Australia's aid commitment to the country.
The Efogi health centre is the first to benefit under the
$US15 million Kokoda Development Program initiated by the
Howard government in response to the threat of mining along
the track.
The centre caters for more than a thousand locals but has
been closed for the past seven years because of inadequate
PNG government funding.
The facility has been refurbished, restocked with medicine
and now has trained health workers.
The clinic was officially opened by Kevin Rudd's Special
Envoy on Kokoda, Sandy Hollway, as part of a week long
program in PNG.
No tax relief for PNG's tourism
industry
Updated November 20, 2008 14:14:33 ABC
News/Radio Australia
An international accounting firm says Papua New Guinea
should have reduced tax on tourism related items in the
country's 2009 budget, which was unveiled this week.
The PNG government unveiled a $US2.5 billion budget in
parliament this week.
It is more than $300 million less than the 2008 budget.
The governments' 2009 budget has no new tax cuts or changes.
One of PNG's international accounting firms,
PriceWaterHouseCoopers, says most people will welcome the
news.
But tax expert, David Carruthers, says the government could
have done more to cut tax on tourism-related goods and
services.
"There's still a lot to be done for tourism overall to make
the tourism incentive more attractive," he said.
"It's not just about building hotels, it's all those other
things like infrastructure and service."
The PNG ppposition party will give its traditional budget
reply next week.
Kokoda redevelopment a boost to PNG:
PM-envoy
By ABC News PNG correspondent Steve
Marshall.
Posted Thu Nov 20, 2008 12:00pm AEDT
The Prime Minister's special envoy to Papua New Guinea says
the terrain surrounding the Kokoda Track could provide a
healthy income for PNG if global forest carbon trading is
introduced.
Former Sydney Olympic Games chief Sandy Hollway now heads up
the Kokoda Development Program, a $15 million drive to
protect the World War II path and improve the livelihoods of
people living along it.
Speaking at Efogi village, midway along the 96 kilometre
track, Mr Hollway said Australia has an obligation to do the
right thing by Papua New Guineans.
"Those battles could not have been fought and won without
the support of the fuzzy wuzzy angels, that I think creates
a special obligation of Australian towards these people"
The development program has refurbished the Efogi village
health clinic and restocked its medicine and after it was
forced to close seven years ago.
Mr Hollway says the track's Owen Stanley Ranges could be of
significant global value as well.
"Now it is conceivable indeed that carbon trading systems
will be set up under which the preservation of forests will
earn carbon credits," he said.
"That would be potentially quite significant for people in
this area. We think that that is one potential income stream
that could come to the people."
Today Mr Hollway will meet with Kokoda track tour operators
to thrash out a code of conduct plan to help preserve the
path.
Cynthia Dennis -photographer
Huli wigmen, who try to emulate birds of paradise, spend
hours decorating themselves and painting their faces before
performing traditional dances.
Tradition lives in Papua New Guinea
By Cynthia Dennis, Special to the Journal Sentinel
: Nov. 21, 2008
All photos by Cynthia Dennis
Papua New Guinea - Primal
drumbeats throb in the distance as if driven by the ancient
spirits that spawned them. Suddenly a gate swings open and
dancers surge onto a mountainous ceremonial field. Flanks of
mud-faced men parade behind bare-breasted women. Boys
painted as black-and-white skeletons follow revellers with
exotic headdresses of towering feathers. Dancers' shell
necklaces, chunks of fur and grass skirts sway with wild
abandon. Competing chants rise in a pulsing chorus as each
ensemble clamors for the most attention.
This spectacle of sensory overload is called a sing-sing.
Its participants are tribal members from various villages.
They have come to show off their flamboyant traditions and
perform dances unique to their cultures.
Like PNG, as some like to call their country, a sing-sing
mirrors a multitude of superstitions and spirits. They fuel
a culture where an estimated 867 languages are spoken by 5.5
million residents, and medicine men still prevail. In rural
environs, time seems to have stopped. Electricity and
motorized vehicles are rare. Horses and donkeys are
nonexistent. Pigs and land are prized more than women.
And clans like the Huli Wigmen cling to traditions such as
dressing themselves to emulate the bird of paradise and
donning wigs of human hair.
Our rendezvous with a group of Huli men takes place on a
blue sky morning. The weather has bestowed a blessing,
because they refuse to expose their bird of paradise feather
headdresses to rain. In a forest clearing, the Hulis are so
preoccupied with applying makeup that they might be Broadway
stars preening on opening night. One examines his face in a
cracked hand mirror. Another tries to apply yellow face
paint with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Several chew
betel nut, a mild hallucinogen that explains the vivid red
stains on many PNG teeth.
Huli dance preparations may take hours because of countless
accessory details. Headbands of snakeskin. Fresh yellow
daisies in their wigs. Cassowary bird quill necklaces.
Hornbill beaks hanging
 down
their backs. Bits of opossum fur. Mock tail feathers of
greens gathered from the rain forest. And most important,
the bright blue breast plate and vibrant feathers plucked
from a bird of paradise.
About 38,000 Hulis live in PNG's rugged Southern Highlands,
where Westerners first encountered them in 1935. The Huli
Wigmen are so-called because of their confounding hair
pieces that resemble upside-down bowls.
We pay a visit to a Huli Wig School where such extraordinary
headpieces are produced. Men who enroll in the school lead
monastic lives for 18 months in order to produce the highest
quality locks. They practice celibacy, sprinkle their hair
daily with rainwater, trim it to fashion the bowl shape, and
even sleep with their heads supported on above-ground wood
rails so as not to squash their hair.
And where are the Huli women while their males garnish
themselves like movie stars? They are hauling firewood,
hoeing in gardens, tending pigs and children, or weaving the
string bilum bags that no woman leaves home without. Handles
of the bags are positioned across the top of a woman's head
and the bag's cargo, ranging from food to babies, hangs down
her back. So heavy are these carryalls that, eventually,
some women lose the hair on their heads.
Workhorses that they are, such women are "money in the bank"
as one Huli woman tells us. When it comes to marriage, their
financial worth is equated in a dowry of pigs or "bride
price." Though this
swap of pigs for females may sound far-fetched, the practice
remains viable among Huli men who are often polygamous.
About 25 pigs with an extra one thrown in for the bride's
mother, plus money, is a typical offer.
We witness an abbreviated re-enactment of "bride price"
negotiations in a Highlands village. Key players include a
topless grass-skirted mother of the bride, a glassy-eyed
prospective groom, several squealing pigs, a demure
bride-to-be wearing her bilum, and some supporting players.
At one point, the bride's menacing mother, who is
disgruntled because she wants additional pigs, chases a
member of the bridal party with a weapon. "Desperate
Housewives Papua New Guinea-style," cracks one traveler.
Once married, Huli husbands and wives live in separate
dwellings because women's sexuality is thought to threaten
male health and well-being. So a woman resides with her
children and pigs. A husband lives with other men, including
his sons, who join him at adolescence. So powerful are
women's evil spirits thought to be that they cannot walk on
the dirt paths that cross in front of men's houses.
Traveling by water
In another part of this vast country, along PNG's mighty
Sepik River, age-old traditions of a different sort still
thrive. Pedestrian travel is by dugout canoe. Even accessing
a village, in this case one named Pelimbe, can be a
challenge.
As our pontoon-style boat wends its way down a canal choked
with blue water hyacinths, it gets
 stuck.
Several PNG men on board dive into the murky water to push
away floating gobs of flowers. Soon a dugout canoe arrives
from the village. Its occupants push and shove and, finally,
prevail. When the pontoon reaches a muddy shore, scores of
curious kids perch in tree branches to glimpse the
outsiders. At one of our village stops, we are the first
visitors in more than a year.
Once on land, we are led to the spirit house (Haus Tambaran).
Elaborate versions of these dominate most Sepik villages.
Inside, some have massive wood carved drums depicting
various spirits.
Like all spirit houses, Pelimbe's two-story thatched roof
structure is a place of symbolism and secrets. Men (never
women) gather here to reiterate their oral histories or
discuss clan disputes (and possible "pay back" warfare).
Though cannibalism is no longer practiced, it was in the
past. Evidence is presented in one village where jagged
rocks bear the blood of past victims.
Secret initiation ceremonies for teenage boys are also
conducted in the spirit houses. Before they take place,
fences are constructed around the perimeter so that women
and children cannot watch.
As we swat at a squadron of mosquitoes, our guide produces
several toned, shirtless male teens. They want to show us
evidence of their initiations. Simulated crocodile scales
have been etched into their backs, top to bottom. This
handiwork, carved with coconut shells, is intended to bleed
away a mother's blood and ensure her son's masculinity. Once
inflicted, the carvings are covered with oil and mud to
heal.
 The
crocodile, a Water Spirit, reigns supreme among the Sepik
River's myriad spirits. Locals believe that aged crocs turn
into strangulated fig trees. So villagers are often
intimidated by them.
Unlike Huli men who may have up to 20 wives, Sepik males
tend to be monogamous and live with their families. Yet
women still have to traverse the village on paths separate
from those of men. They also have to perform most labor,
including fishing expeditions on the crocodile-infested
Sepik River.
This is where the renowned wood carvings that can be found
in museum exhibits across the world are produced. Spirits
are embodied in each of these carved artifacts, as they are
in daily life. One woodcarver tells us when describing the
creation of each piece of his art: "Once a story is told,
the spirit is released."
Where spirits are concerned, the influx of Western
missionaries and health care has failed to banish natives'
belief in their medicine men.
Evil spirits
In the Southern Highlands, we meet such a man. He wears
flamboyant native regalia and a reed threaded through his
nostrils. His colorfully clad compatriots, also sporting
nose décor and lavish attire, have gathered to assist him.
He needs to assess exactly which one from a menu of evil
spirits has infected the sick young boy sitting in a nearby
hut.
The medicine man, as if using divining rods, proceeds to
spin a club, dip a pig's foot into a blazing fire and direct
a helper to hack at a piece of clay. He decides that a Water
Spirit has infected the boy.
So we follow him to the river, where he holds the figure of
a carved spirit in one hand and dips clay receptacles with
the other. That done, a pair of costumed men dance in
frenetic circles. And voila, the boy's illness is expected
to dissipate.
In other villages, a medicine man might direct male
residents to don grass skirts and drive away the malevolent
spirits by convincing them they are women. Or he might have
them slaughter a pig, take half of it to a mountaintop and
burn it as a message advising the spirits to flee. How a man
rises to this esteemed position of medicine man seems to be
inherited in a tradition as mysterious as the spirits he
tries to banish.
Life in the PNG countryside, of course, is far different
from in its few poverty-plagued cities. There, Western
attire and motorized vehicles are the norm. Yet it is said
that PNG clansmen who migrate from the country to cities,
seeking work, bring their grievances with them. For them,
"pay back" remains a viable solution to conflict.
Meanwhile, back home in their native villages, customs born
of legend and lore thrive. Pigs still represent a woman's
worth. Boys continue to covet crocodile scales. Roads and
rivers serve as pedestrian highways. And Huli Wigmen persist
in mimicking the resplendent bird of paradise.
Trekkers raise funds to restart school
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
Port Moresby, PNG - The National – Thursday, November 13,
2008
FOUR trekkers with the Kokoda Spirit Trekking
Company completed a seven-day coast to coast cycling and
trekking for about 240km from Oro province to Port Moresby
on Tuesday.
Mick Turner (from left) and
Kokoda Spirit managing director Wayne Wetherall crossing a
mud puddle at Ower’s Corner to Port Moresby on Tuesday
followed by Kokoda Spirit
operations manager Kevin Mansfield and Blake Wetherall. –
Nationalpic by CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
The cycling and trekking effort was to raise about
K20,000 to build two houses and register the Manari
Elementary School, which has been closed, located along the
rugged and isolated 96km Kokoda Track in Central province.
Led by Kokoda Spirit managing director Wayne Wetherall,
they cycled from Buna on the Solomon
Sea to the inland Kokoda station in Oro province.
Then they trekked along the Kokoda Track to Ower’s Corner
in Central province and cycled again from Ower’s Corner to
Ela Beach in Port Moresby.
“The school had been shut down for 18 months due to
absence of teachers as there are no houses for them,” Mr
Wetherall added.
“As the school is unregistered with the Central
provincial education division, it cannot get Government
funds.
“Due to the school’s closure, the children had to trek
for about 10km along mountainous tracks and across rapid
flowing mountain streams to Efogi to receive education.
“Apart from raising funds, we also did education, health
and tourism awareness for people along our cycling route,”
Mr Wetherall added.
However, a Central provincial education officer denied
the school’s closure.
“The school is registered and is currently operating.
“It is only the teacher who has not been paid,” he
claimed. “We are now fixing up his salary.”
Footy Show host
Harragon walks Kokoda
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
NATIONAL Rugby League (NRL) Footy Show host
Paul “Chief” Harragon yesterday completed a nine-day trek
along the rugged 96km Kokoda Track between Oro and Central
provinces.
The former Newcastle Knights, Blues and
Australian player, accompanied by his wife Pamela, wound up
their walk along the famous World War II track by visiting
the Bomana war cemetery outside Port
Moresby.
Mr Harragon is also believed to be the
third NRL personality after Mal Meninga and Parramatta
forward Daniel Wagon to walk the track.
“I would like to see a lot of NRL players
come up and walk the track,” Mr Harragon said. “It was very
emotional for me. I made a lot of friends along the
track and, yeah, it was very surprising that people, even in
the remote areas along the track, knew me."
“It was also surprising for them to know a
lot about NRL,” he said. “I was welcomed by every villager
along the track. The track was tough, but I enjoyed
it."
“I will tell my viewers during the opening
of next season’s Footy Show about my experiences along the
track. I really enjoyed the people’s hospitality and the
environment along the track, and PNG has a lot of good areas
for tourists to visit."
“I’ve come up here three times since 1995;
but it was more to do with the NRL. This time I came
up on my own arrangement. I also walked the track to
celebrate my 40th birthday. I turned 40 on Oct 12 and
I walked the track on Oct 19.”
Mr Harragon said although none of his
relatives fought along the track, his wife Pamela’s
grandfather was stationed in Port Moresby during the war.
“The track is historical to Papua New
Guineans and Australians and I hope that it is preserved."
Paul 'Chief' Harragon emotional after
Kokoda Track trek
October 28, 2008
 RUGBY
league legend Paul "Chief" Harragon has completed a nine-day
trek along the famous Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
Paul Harragon and his wife Pamela finished their walk this
week then visited the Bomana war cemetery, outside Port
Moresby, where more than 3,000 Australian soldiers are
buried.
The Kokoda Track was where 600 Australians soldiers died
during World War II when fighting invading Japanese soldiers
along the rugged and mountainous 96km track.
PNG's The National newspaper reported Harragon is now the
third NRL star to walk Kokoda like Mal Meninga and
Parramatta forward Daniel Wagon.
"I would like to see a lot of NRL players come up and walk
the track," Harragon said.
"It was very emotional for me. I met a lot of friends along
the track and yeah it was very surprising that people even
in the remote areas along the track knew me.
"It was also surprising for them to know a lot about NRL,"
he said.
Harragon said the trek was tough but enjoyable.
"I really enjoyed the people's hospitality and the
environment along the track and yeah PNG has a lot of good
areas for tourists to visit."
Harragon said he had visited PNG twice before for football
purposes.
"I also walked the track to celebrate my 40th birthday. I
turned 40 on Oct 12 and I walked the track on the 18th Oct."
Harragon said he did not have any family connections to the
Kokoda Track but Pamela's grandfather was stationed at Port
Moresby during the war.
Kokoda trekker Warwick Duncan celebrates
gift of life
October 27, 2008 Article from the:
Read Warwick's personal account with photos here.
 HE
has parachuted, parasailed, gone swimming with dolphins,
been whitewater rafting and hot-air ballooning.
But intrepid liver transplant recipient Warwick Duncan's
most recent adventure on the Kokoda Track has eclipsed them
all.
"The experience was so much bigger than I expected," he
said.
"It was more than just a challenge because of the isolation,
the scenery and the local people, who are magical. Nothing I
have done compares to this."
Mr Duncan, 49, completed the gruelling 96km, nine-day trek
with sons James, 26, and Marc, 20, to celebrate 19 years
since he got his second chance at life through organ
donation.
"I am extremely happy and proud of myself to be up to the
challenge," he said. "I am probably one of the first, if not
the first, transplant to do it."
The Park Orchards father of four has been working through
his version of a "bucket list" since getting his donor
liver, attempting something new every year around the
anniversary of the transplant.
It is his way of showing the grieving family of his donor
that their precious gift hasn't been wasted, and showing the
world what transplant recipients can do.
The Herald Sun featured a story on Mr Duncan in August as he
prepared for the Kokoda trek. He said the Papua New Guinean
terrain was so difficult that every step required total
concentration.
His group also had to contend with the usual upset stomachs
and his younger son rolled his ankle.
But he said the most challenging aspect was the isolation.
Although undecided on next year's adventure, Mr Duncan said
Kokoda had opened his mind to new possibilities, including
Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and, one day, Mt Everest Base
Camp in the Himalayas.
Walking in the footsteps of heroes
The Daily | 12th October 2008 | Mark Bode
 THE
natives affectionately call her Mudgirl.
She entered their world carrying a stick that was almost as
big as her and boldly went where no white girl her age has
gone before.
She walked in the footsteps of heroes, enduring stifling
heat and torrential downpours during a nine-day, 96km
mountain trek.
And when it was all over, she smiled innocently said: “It
was easy.”
The Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, a gruelling test of
endurance immortalised by our Diggers during the Second
World War, has been called many things – “easy” is probably
a first.
Relaxing at her Sippy Downs home yesterday, having returned
from PGN with her family the night before, eight-year-old
Erika Wetherall relived a journey no female her age, other
than locals, has done before.
The mud had been washed out of her fair hair, which locals
braided during the trip.
Her skin is tanned. She looks like she has just returned
from a beach holiday.
Erika’s parents, Michelle and Wayne, run Kokoda Spirit which
has been running treks along the trail for six years.
They took Erika and their two other children, Blake, 14, and
Elysia, 11, to PGN to celebrate Michelle’s 40th birthday.
Blake had done the trek three previous times but it was the
first time for Michelle, Erika and Elysia.
Big brother joked there were too many toilet breaks this
time.
The family’s extensive preparation for the adventure
included hikes through the Buderim hills.
Of course, Buderim isn’t PGN.
“There were lots and lots of hills,” Erika said.
Swimming in rivers and playing with village kids were among
the highlights.
“I want to do it again,” she said. “I want to walk the trek
four times before I’m 10.”
Dad rolled his eyes. “I kept drumming into her how hard it
would be,” he said.
Wayne made the family play a lot of games, such as I spy, to
help keep their minds off the hill climbs, which was
especially welcomed by Michelle, who took a bad hip on the
trip and now needs an operation.
Wayne said he wanted his children to understand the huge
sacrifice made by our soldiers at Kokoda.
He has a passion for the people of PNG and the mateship,
sacrifice and endurance displayed by the Diggers.
Now his whole family does, too.
“We did a lot of history,” he said. “We stopped at a lot of
battlefields.
“It also gave them a chance to mix with locals and to
experience the rawness of the place. It hasn’t been touched
by civilisation. It hasn’t been spoilt.
“The kids understand the (Kokoda) story and got an
opportunity to be out in the jungle.”
Elysia will do the trek again next year with her Chancellor
State College classmates. Like little sister, she is hooked.
“I want to do it as many times as I can,” she said.
Blake said he was glad his sisters got a chance to
experience the trek – to understand what it was all about.
“It was definitely an experience,” he said.
October 10, 2008
Walk with funds in mind
SARAH JAYE KLINGEL
 WHAT
started out as a team-building exercise quickly escalated
into a $20,000 fundraiser for five local men who completed
the Kokoda Track [with Kokoda Spirit].
The group decided that since
they were already going to walk the track, they could
simultaneously put their efforts to a good cause.
Through family, friends and business associates, the men,
five of whom are directors of Phoenix Insurance Brokers and
one a business associate, raised their aim total of $20,000
which went towards Teen Challenge.
Teen Challenge is a global, non-profit organisation that
assists young men and women with drug and alcohol addictions
to quit permanently.
One of Western Australia’s largest youth residential
rehabilitation programs, Teen Challenge has an 86 per cent
success rate and is considered one of the most successful
programs in the world.
The program costs $10,000 per youth to complete, so with the
team’s efforts, two young men or women can seek to overcome
their drug or alcohol addictions and lead a better life.
The cost of the trek was covered by Phoenix Insurance
Brokers and the individual directors who participated, so
that all funds raised went directly to Teen Challenge. The
men were away for 12 days, nine of which were spent on the
Kokoda Track, to complete the 96km trek.
Murray Cameron of Phoenix in Busselton said the group passed
through villages on their journey, which was an eye-opening
experience as they witnessed the poverty villagers lived in.
The villagers were quite poor and the level of malnutrition
was shocking, as they had not mastered cultivation
techniques and therefore lived on a poor diet, Mr Cameron
said.
Due to the distance between villages and the lack of
technology and transport, children walk a four-day round
trip to bring back a 20kg bag of rice, which they must
carry.
Mr Cameron was also impressed by the efforts of the porters,
who each carried around 20kg of luggage. One man had
completed the trip 21 times, barefoot.
He said the highlight of the trip was finishing – as well as
visiting Brigade Hill and Isurava, a village which has a
memorial to mark the most intense battles fought by
Australian troops.
With no communication or technology and access only to
extremely basic facilities and no showers, Mr Cameron and
the team found that they reflected a great deal about how it
was for the diggers on the track, who additionally suffered
dysentery, malaria and starvation.
It was a rewarding experience for all and the benefits will
continue to be passed on to the young men and women who will
be able regain their lives through the Teen Challenge
program.
October 4, 2008
Kokoda challenge
Kay O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning
Herald
Looking for something challenging to do in your next
holiday? Well, block out November 6 to 14 for the inaugural
Kokoda Coast to Coast Challenge.
The nine-day bike-walk-ride will cross Papua New Guinea from
north to south.
Jump on your bike at Buna on the north coast - the
organising company, Kokoda Spirit, will organise bikes or
you can bring your own - and cycle along some challenging
terrain to the starting point of the track. Six days and 96
kilometres later the bikes are waiting at Owers Corner where
all roads lead to Port Moresby and a much-deserved rest.
Prices start from $5695 ex Brisbane, $5795 ex Sydney and
include return air fares, transfers, accommodation, bike
support crew, bike transfers, guides and a personal porter.
Melbourne's superfit will have to get to either of those
cities to join the tour.
Kokoda Spirit will donate a portion of its fees to establish
a foundation supporting education and medical projects along
the track and in PNG.
Phone Kokoda Spirit on (07) 5445 2758 or see
www.kokodaspirit.com.
October 2, 2008
Chief is
seeking iron tip
Josh Jerga, Newcastle Herald
Two of Newcastle's favourite sporting sons squared off at
Newcastle Beach yesterday in preparation for two different
but physically demanding challenges.
Knights' legend Paul Harragon is desperate for advice ahead
of tackling the Kokoda Trail this month.
Harragon has done little training for the walk but luckily
Swansea-Belmont ironman Josh Blair was on hand.
"These boys competing in the Ironman: you talk about
gruelling, it's as gruelling as you can get," Harragon said.
"So talking to Josh might be able to pump me up a bit."
When Harragon hits the track on October 19 [with Kokoda
Spirit], Blair a 15-year veteran of the ironman circuit will
be contesting the Coolangatta Gold on the Gold Coast.
Harragon said he's expecting a tough walk but hopes the knee
injury which plagued his football career won't be a problem.
September 30, 2008
Travelmemo.co.nz Features the
Coast to Coast Challenge
Kokoda Coast to Coast
Challenge
For those seeking a
personal challenge, Australian-based specialist trekking
company Kokoda Spirit has announced the first bike ride –
walk – bike ride coast to coast crossing of Papua New
Guinea.
Starting in Buna on the
north coast of PNG, the Challenge comprises cycling from
Buna to Kokoda, trekking 96km on the historic Kokoda Trail
to Owers Corner and then cycling back to Port Moresby on the
south coast.
Spaces are limited and a
high level of endurance fitness is required to complete this
9-day epic journey, scheduled for 06-14NOV08. It is
anticipated that this will become an annual event, designed
to raise awareness for the launch of the Spirit Foundation,
created to support medical and education projects along the
track and in PNG.
Pricing starts from
A$5695 ex Brisbane, A$5795 ex Sydney, and includes return
airfares, transfers,
accommodation, bike support crew, bike transfers, guides and
a personal porter.
Footnote: The Kokoda Trail or Track, a single file footpath
with 60km running in a straight line through the Owen
Stanley Range, has been used by Europeans since the
gold-mining days of the 1890s. It became famous in WWII
when, though outnumbered five to one by the invading
Japanese, Australian troops (helped by Papuan natives – the
“fuzzy wuzzy angels”) fought in the jungle and successfully
defended Port Moresby against capture, eventually driving
the Japanese back along the Trail and out of PNG.
September 30, 2008
Inaugural Kokoda Coast to Coast Challenge
|
For those
seeking a little extra personal
challenge, Australian-based specialist
trekking company Kokoda Spirit have
announced the first bike ride – walk –
bike ride coast to coast crossing of
Papua New Guinea.
Starting in Buna on the north coast of
PNG, the Challenge comprises riding from
Buna to Kokoda, trekking 96 kilometers
on the iconic Kokoda Track to Owers
Corner and then its back on your bike to
Port Moresby on the south coast for a
well earned rest.
Spaces are limited and it should go
without saying that a high level of
endurance fitness is required to
complete this 9 day epic (6th to 14th
November 2008).
It is anticipated that this will become
an annual event, designed to raise
awareness for the launch of the Spirit
Foundation, created to support medical
and education projects along the track
and in PNG.
Pricing
starts from $5695 ex Brisbane, $5795 ex
Sydney, and includes return airfares,
transfers, accommodation, bike support
crew, bike transfers, guides and a
personal porter.
More
information available through Kokoda
Spirit on 07.5445 2758 or the website at
www.kokodaspirit.com
Further
information on Papua New Guinea can be
obtained by visiting the website
www.png-tourism.com or email
png@png-tourism.com |
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Jungle trek was an act of homage
BY HELEN GREGORY
30/09/2008
BRENDAN Kusmenko will forever cherish the
memories of his nine-day trek on the Kokoda Trail.
"Telling people how good it is doesn't do
the experience justice,'' Mr Kusmenko, 27, said. "It was one
of the most uplifting experiences of my life.''
The Castle Hill resident returned from
Papua New Guinea last week, where he walked the trail in
homage to his grandfather, John "Jack'' Masman, who was part
of the Australian campaign that fought back the advancing
Japanese on the trail in 1943.
"I knew that if I didn't go now I would
look back forever and wish that I had,'' Mr Kusmenko said.
"It opened my eyes to so much more and showed me what it
means to be an Australian.''
For nine days Mr. Kusmenko, a group of
seven trekkers and 20 Papua New Guinean guides and porters
woke at 5am to begin an eight-hour walk through the jungle,
along mountains and past small villages.
"We saw the dense conditions of the jungle
and were wondering how could anyone have ever fought there.
You couldn't see 10 metres to the left or right of you,'' Mr
Kusmenko said.
"The Australian soldiers were stuck in the
rain, walking through mud, and were subject to leeches,
dysentery and lack of food. They couldn't even change their
socks.''
Mr Kusmenko trained for six months before
the trip, by boxing, bike riding, walking and climbing
mountains every weekend.
"I knew failure was not an option. I had
to finish it my grandfather and the Australians didn't come
home before they had to. There was no way I could not
finish.'' he said.
"It was more emotionally testing than
anything else.''
Mr Kusmenko said two of the most memorable
moments of the trip were meeting a "fuzzy wuzzy angel'' (as
local helpers were known) and walking into Kokoda station on
the last day of the trip.
"We were wondering what the Australians
would have felt walking in there knowing all the fighting
was finally over.''
He said that while the impact of the
experience "still hasn't hit me yet'', his appreciation for
the work of Australian soldiers had deepened.
"The fighting on the Kokoda Trail
dramatically influenced the outcome of this country,'' he
said. "It may not be there forever; so don't delay it. It's
a life-changing experience.''
Taking on Kokoda
This contribution has been submitted to
Webdiary by a student in the Online Journalism unit for the
Masters in Media Practice and Masters in Publishing courses
at The University of Sydney as part of the unit's
assessment. The topics covered in the pieces awaiting
publication are interesting – and diverse. We hope that
Webdiarists will enjoy reading them, as well as giving these
aspiring journalists plenty of constructive commentary.
by Sarah Jessup
Instead of fearing one family legacy,
Viona Young has embraced another - and helped to raise over
$200,000 for breast cancer research.
Viona Young has a daunting family legacy.
Having lost both her grandmother and mother to breast
cancer, she lives with the knowledge that she is at
significant risk of developing the cancer that is
responsible for more deaths of Australian women each year
than any other cancer.
Deciding to devote her energies and spare time to helping
find a cure, Young came up with a fundraising scheme based
on another family legacy.
Young’s grandfather was one of a number of
young soldiers who bravely faced the Japanese army on the
Kokoda trail in World War Two. The soldiers fought in rough
and volatile conditions that were extremely mentally and
physically challenging.
In 2007 Young decided that she would walk
the Kokoda trail and find another eleven women to do it with
her. Each participant had to cover the costs of travel and
commit to raising at least $5000 for breast cancer research.
The fundraising target for 2007 was $60 000.
The idea behind the challenge is that its
demands compare to that of chemotherapy.
“We compared walking to watching someone go through
chemotherapy,” Young says
In 2007 the Kokoda Chicks far-exceeded their fund raising
target and raised over $100 000 for breast cancer research.
This made the Kokoda Chicks the largest non-corporate
fund-raisers for breast cancer research for 2007.
This October another twelve women will be
walking the Kokoda trail to raise money for breast cancer
research.
With a month to go the 2008 Kokoda Chicks
have raised $98,000. The last month is also usually the most
intensive for fundraising, and so it looks as though the
chicks are well on their way to exceeding the amount of
money raised last year.
According to statistics from the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & National Breast
Cancer Centre, 11,700 new cases of breast cancer are
diagnosed each year, resulting in approximately 2,600
deaths.
Funding is vital for research into all
aspects of breast cancer including prevention, diagnosis,
treatment and support.
Walking Kokoda seems a uniquely and
proudly Australian way to raise money in the fight against
cancer.
Kokoda was one of Australia's most
significant campaigns of the Second World War. More
Australians, many aged 18 and 19, died in the seven months
fighting on the trail than in any other Australian wartime
campaign.
The Kokoda walking track crosses the Owen
Stanley Ranges and is 96 kilometres long. It links the north
and south coasts of Papua New Guinea.
The trail is rugged and challenging,
weaving through rainforest and jungle, crossing steep
mountains and deep valleys. The weather is hot, humid and
wet.
The challenge of Kokoda is not only in the
walking, but in the months of training, preparation and
fundraising. Although Young is not walking the trail this
year, her support has been instrumental to the organisation
of this year’s trip and to the morale of this year’s
participants.
“She seems to know what we are going
through and is really encouraging. A few times I have wanted
to throw in the towel, and then I get an email from her and
I think yeah, I can do this,” says Allison La Spina, one of
the 2008 Kokoda Chicks.
“What she’s done is amazing. I feel like
what I have achieved so far is amazing... and I haven’t even
left yet”.
October is Breast Cancer month. This year
the Kokoda Chicks will commence their trek on October 19.
This will be the second Kokoda Chicks trek
guided by Kokoda Spirit.
Download the Kokoda Chicks Challenge flyer in PDF.
Stan Bisset Turns 96
By Patrick Lindsay, Chairman - August 2008
He’s not only the oldest surviving Kokoda
veteran; he’s also our oldest living Wallaby rugby player,
having played for Australia against the Springboks in 1937.
Perhaps more than any other, Stan represents to me the
Kokoda Spirit.
Even today, Stan Bisset still holds himself like the great
leader he has always been ... and he refuses to give an inch
in his fight against father time.
Stan was one of the leaders of the 2/14th Battalion which
relieved Ralph Honner’s young 39th Battalion at the crucial
Battle for Isurava in August 1942. Stan’s older brother
Butch was a platoon commander in the battalion. A
charismatic larrikin, Butch was much loved by his men and
had proved himself a fierce leader in the Middle-East.
Butch’s platoon took over the high ground
at Kokoda and held off between 30 and 40 massed assaults (of
100 and 200 men) by the Japanese. (To give an idea of the
fierceness of the fighting there: months later, when the
Australians regained the position as they forced the
Japanese back up the track, they found around 250 Japanese
graves around Butch Bisset’s platoon’s position.)
Stan was at the battalion headquarters at Isurava when a
runner told him Butch had been hit. He’d been caught across
the chest with a burst of machine-gun fire and was mortally
wounded. Butch had ordered his men to leave him, even
threatened them with his pistol. But they ignored him and
brought him back to HQ, fighting their way out while holding
a makeshift stretcher with one hand and firing their weapons
with the other.
The harsh fact of life in the jungle was that if you
suffered an abdominal wound you had virtually no chance of
survival. No choppers, no medivac, if you couldn’t walk out
or be carried out on a bush stretcher by the magnificent
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, you died.
One of the medical officers put it this way: “To deal with
an abdominal wound you would have to have an operating
theatre, an anaesthetist, a surgeon, possible an assistant
surgeon and a good deal of gear. So you gave them a shot of
morphine ...”
Stan spent five hours with Butch as the battle raged around
them. Stan was, and still is, a wonderful singer with a
great baritone voice, and he held Butch’s hand and sang his
favourite songs and they told tales of their childhood as
butch slipped in and out of consciousness and finally died.
Then, somehow, Stan had to put aside his
grief at losing his beloved brother and continue the fight.
He was able to do that magnificently, subsequently winning
the Military Cross for his consistent gallantry through the
campaign.
Today, Stan lives on the Sunshine Coast
with his beloved wife Gloria. Today he celebrated his
birthday with his family, a living Australian treasure.
He’s still dedicated to his battalion
association and to keeping the story of Kokoda alive. He has
been an inspiration to generations of Australians as a man
of honour, courage and compassion.
If Stan and his mates had been American, they would be
household names, celebrated in movies and on memorials
across the nation.
Let’s make sure that they live in our hearts and that their
Kokoda story becomes part of our Dreamtime, to be handed
down to future generations.
Following Kokoda footsteps
BY HELEN GREGORY
23/09/2008
Five years of planning and six months of
bushwalking, boxing, bike riding and walking has paid off
for Brendan Kusmenko.
The Castle Hill resident, 27, has completed a 10-day walk of
the Kokoda Trail [with Kokoda Spirit] in tribute to his late
grandfather.
His mother, Wendy Kusmenko, said his achievement was
completed in homage to his grandfather, John "Jack'' Masman,
who was a spotter with the New Guinea Air Warning Wireless
Company in World War II.
Mr Masman was part of the Australian campaign which
fought the Japanese on the trail in 1943.
"Brendan has always marched on Anzac Day, but I thought it
was so thoughtful and caring of him to want to walk in the
footsteps of his grandfather,'' Mrs Kusmenko said. "I know
that his grandfather would have been overjoyed to think his
grandson wanted to do this to honour him.''
For six months Brendan and friend Andrew Barrett abstained
from alcohol, watched films and read books about Kokoda and
completed physical training to prepare for the rugged and
mountainous terrain.
"Nothing was going to stop them,'' Mrs Kusmenko said.
"Brendan had a knee reconstruction two years ago and wanted
to be sure he was fit to go. He felt confident and was
determined,''
However, Mrs Kusmenko admitted she was worried about
Brendan's safety.
"I'd heard that the first three or four days were the worst
and was waiting for the phone call saying he'd been
air-lifted out.
"But when I did hear from him, I was so relieved.
"All he could say was that it was absolutely out of this
world.''
Brendan has also lived in England and travelled throughout
Europe and to America, South America, Fiji and Bali.
"He's got so much behind him and he's still very young,''
Mrs Kusmenko said.
"You can see movies and read books but until you walk the
walk you don't know the full story. It's such a significant
life experience for him.''
Both
sides of the track
Michael Idato
September 22, 2008
 We knew the Japs were coming,"
recalls Sergeant Joe Dawson, B Company, 39th Battalion. "So
we were going to kill as many as we could." Those words,
spoken in the documentary Beyond Kokoda, capture perfectly
the brutal simplicity of warfare.
The two-hour documentary, produced and directed for Foxtel's
History Channel by Shaun Gibbons and Stig Schnell, is a
confronting examination of one of the most famous
engagements in Australian military history. It provides a
personal context to the conflict, speaking to surviving
soldiers from Japan and Australia.
As they distilled more than 530 hours of interviews into
Beyond Kokoda, the filmmakers sought to avoid the popular
view that Kokoda was a failed invasion of Australia and to
concentrate on first-hand accounts rather than academic
analysis.
"We started off with a bunch of historians and then we
realised we wanted to get the guys to tell their stories
themselves," says Gibbons, who filmed, directed and edited
the program. Schnell, who produced and co-wrote, felt the
"individual stories" were more powerful than the bigger
military story. "We felt it was something people should
hear," Schnell says.
The Kokoda is a narrow path linking the two coasts of Papua
New Guinea, from Gona Beach, where the Japanese landed, to
just outside Port Moresby. It is steep in parts and famously
unforgiving.
In 1942, the approaching Japanese intended to use the track
to reach Port Moresby, from which they hoped to dominate the
South Pacific. Between July and November a campaign was
fought along the track between the Allies, primarily
Australian soldiers, and the invading Japanese. That
conflict, the Kokoda campaign, has subsequently etched
itself into Australia's history books.
Port Moresby was defended by just two militia brigades,
nicknamed "chocos" as they were expected to melt like
chocolate in the event of an attack. By the time the
campaign was over, about 12,000 Japanese soldiers had fought
against an Allied force more than twice their size. The
Japanese lost more than 6000 troops, the Allies roughly a
tenth of that.
Beyond Kokoda personalises both sides of the conflict.
Gibbons and Schnell felt earlier documentaries, such as
1992's Kokoda: The Bloody Track, used Japanese accounts to
give context to the Australian story without fully exploring
the Japanese side. "We were left wanting for more. What were
they feeling? Why did they retreat? Why did they do this?
There were so many questions just left," Schnell says.
The filmmakers joined associate producer Hajime Marutani, a
Japanese academic who has researched Kokoda extensively. "We
knew we had to tell both sides of the story because it was a
shared experience between those two nations," Gibbons says.
"They had to fight the jungle conditions, the track itself
and each other, and getting Haj on board was a stroke of
luck. He was instrumental in setting up the interviews and
he gave us a real understanding of the Japanese mindset."
The reflections from surviving soldiers on both sides are
powerful and frequently moving. They perfectly underline the
innocence of boy soldiers on the battlefield and,
ultimately, the futility of war. "We tried to avoid the
facts and figures as much as possible and get to their
feelings," Gibbons says. "There are a lot of similarities
between what the Australians and the Japanese were feeling."
Curiously, Schnell believes the Japanese have reconciled
their feelings about the war far better than the
Australians. "It was really quite amazing, the Japanese are
able to show emotion, they opened up a lot quicker," Schnell
says. "With the Australians we had to tease things out. The
Japanese lost, but they are more open about it."
In its popularised context, many Australians see Kokoda as a
battle that stopped a potential Japanese invasion. Gibbons
and Schnell don't entirely agree and Schnell says they tried
to break down that myth by providing the context of what was
happening in the Pacific at the time.
"Even before the first Japanese had landed," Gibbons says,
"the battles of Midway and the Coral Sea had taken place,
and that had smashed the Japanese navy, so they started
losing logistics, communications and supply down the
Pacific.
"While there is a lot of significance for us [in Kokoda],
the major battle going on was Guadalcanal [in the Solomon
Islands], which sucked up the resources Japan would have
used going to Moresby. The battle plan for the Japanese was
not to invade Australia but rather to isolate Australia and
set up a base at Port Moresby so they had aerial
superiority."
Beyond Kokoda includes archival footage from the Australian
War Memorial, secured under a deal in which the producers
agreed to donate their interview tapes to the memorial's
oral history archive. It also features surviving fragments
of film of the Japanese landing at Gona Beach and the work
of Australian cameraman Damien Parer, who was present during
the fighting withdrawal along Kokoda in August 1942.
One of the most striking visual aspects of the program are
the extensive re-enactments, including cameos by Schnell and
Marutani, which were filmed in Australia, Japan and Papua
New Guinea. Schnell jokes that he got shot "two or three
times" during the filming. A former soldier, he recruited
several of his ex-army mates to play extras in the filming.
"It turned into a massive mud pit. We wanted to make it as
realistic as possible," he says.
What had most impact on the filmmakers, however, was walking
the track, which they did in 2004. "That gave us much more
of a sense of the story and what happened than anything
else," Schnell says. "You see the memory of the war on the
track - there are trenches, expended ammunition and you can
feel the mood of the place."
The shifting positions of the Japanese and Allied troops on
the track are illustrated by 3D terrain maps, flags and
board-game tokens. The effect, conceived by graphic designer
Andy Monks, intentionally reduces the battle to a tabletop
war game. It simplifies the battalion movements and makes a
powerful statement about war.
Gibbons says it was designed to give the audience the
feeling some campaigns, such as Kokoda, were run by armchair
generals who have little understanding of conditions on the
ground. "I think that occurs a lot in war," Gibbons says.
Schnell adds: "Andy felt you had to show it was like kids
playing a game."
Ultimately, the most illuminating aspect of the program are
the soldiers' recollections. Without the sense of grandeur
that history books often lend such engagements, it becomes
merely a chapter of a bigger war, fought on a muddy, steep
mountain trail.
Future generations may look back on Australia's role as akin
to that of the Spartans at Thermopylae but it is remembered
by Private Charles Pyke, of D Company, 39th battalion, as
"just a track you walked, one behind the other. They chased
us ... then we chased them back and killed them off; they
were bombing us, we were bombing them and then they sign a
bit of paper at the finish to say it's OK."
Beyond Kokoda airs on The History Channel on Thursday at
8.30pm.
A battle goes on in hindsight
From: Herald Sun
September 03, 2008
TODAY is the
Battle for Australia Day, when all Australians are supposed
to commemorate our part in the Pacific war.
It is not a public holiday. Few, if any,
city offices will stop work to acknowledge it.
In fact, few of us seem aware of the
Battle for Australia Day, and why it should matter.
Click here to read the full article on the website
Pair puts heart into fund-raising
BY LAURA SPERANZA
24/08/2008
 SHIRE
residents Adrian Perkovic and Laura Kent will hit the Kokoda
Trail for 11 days in October to raise money for the Heart
Foundation.
Mr Perkovic, 24, of Barden Ridge, and Ms Kent, 25, of
Sutherland, have so far raised $16,000 and will be sponsored
on the gruelling 96-kilometre track in Papua New Guinea.
The pair, who work together at a Sydney finance company,
will be among 24 people making the trek to support the
foundation.
Ms Kent, who was born with a rare heart condition, Chiari
network, said the money would be used for research into
cardiovascular disease, which claimed 48,000 Australian
lives every year.
"I've been fortunate to not need any help with my heart
condition, but not everyone is as lucky,'' Ms Kent said.
Mr Perkovic said walking the track would be a challenge, but
he was prepared for the tough trek.
"I am really looking forward to experiencing the conditions
Australian soldiers had to cope with firsthand and learning
something new about Australian history,'' he said.
"To do this, while raising money for a good cause, is just
too great an opportunity to pass up.''
To make a donation visit:
www.everydayhero.com.au/CountTrekkers
September 4, 2008
Hanging Aussie airman 'just a branch'
AN Australian trekking party's hopes of having
found remains of a World War II airman hanging from a tree
on the Kokoda Track have been dashed – in fact they
discovered a moss-covered branch.
Australian Defence Force staff from the Australian High
Commission in Port Moresby today reached the isolated site
in Papua New Guinea to check on the sighting, but found no
human remains.
"While the location near Kagi is below a flight path that
was commonly used by allied aircraft during WWII sorties,
the find has been confirmed by ADF staff as a moss-covered
branch," Defence said tonight.
Click here to read the full article on the website.
Kokoda trick
From: Herald Sun
September 2, 2008
The snakes and leeches are a concern, but the biggest
challenge these 11 deaf students face when they walk the Kokoda Track will be communication.
The students won't hear warnings about creepy crawlies,
falling trees or slippery bridges from the three staff who
accompany them.
"Normally, with hiking, people walk in line and they chat to
each other as they walk," College of the Deaf teacher Andrew
Welshe says.
Click here to read the full article on the website
Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link into your
browser:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24276555-5011680,00.html
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