History

Japanese Attack Sydney Harbour

In May and June 1942 the war was brought home to Australians on the east coast when the Japanese attacked Sydney Harbour from the sea.

Owen Gun

In WWII, Australian soldiers found themselves fighting a different kind of war against the Japanese in the Jungles of New Guinea.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel

"... like the care of a nurse and the love of a mother." (Lt Col. Ralph Honner CO 39th Bn)

Bombing of Darwin

On 19 February 1942, the Japanese mounted two air raids on Darwin and mainland Australia came under foreign attack for the first time since white settlement.

Fall of Singapore

The fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army on February 15th 1942 is considered to be one of the greatest military defeats in the history of the British Empire.

Rabaul 1942

Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, was the administrative capital of the Australian Mandated Territory of New Guinea.

Shaggy Ridge

After sixty-five days of fighting during September and October 1943, the Japanese had been defeated in the Finschafen area and had no choice but to retreat northward.

Battle of Isurava

The village of Isurava was the site of one of several desperate battles fought by Australian troops during their fighting withdrawal along the Kokoda Track.

Australian victories at Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942) and Kokoda (21 July – 16 November 1942) destroyed Japanese plans for capturing Port Moresby but 9,000 Japanese remained entrenched in the eminently defensible northern beachheads of Buna, Gona and Sanananda.

Battlefield Remnants - WW2 Australian Boots

A comment made by a trekker, on a recent trip over the Kokoda Track has prompted me to elaborate on an issue that is rarely even considered - let alone written about.

Kokoda Historical Collection

We have many items within our collection relating to the Second World War. Many of the objects within the collection have been or continue to be, on display at various community institutions around Australia.

Lewis Guns at Kokoda

n my way to Port Moresby earlier in 2007 I was passing time by reading The Knights of Kokoda by Geoffrey Scott.

BATTLE OF CORAL SEA

Japan’s astonishing victories in Malaya, the Philippines and the Netherlands East Indies persuaded its commanders to try and extend their conquests to include Port Moresby, Tulagi, New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa.

RESEARCHING SERVICE PERSONNEL

Often the hardest part about conducting research on any particular subject is knowing where to start.

MILNE BAY

On 25 June 1942 an Allied task force, escorted by Royal Australian Navy corvettes Warrego and Ballarat, landed American engineers and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel at Milne Bay, at the extreme southeast tip of the territory of Papua.

EORA CREEK

Eora Creek runs north, roughly parallel to the Kokoda Track, from the central ridge of the Owen Stanley Mountains, near Myola, to join the Mabare River east of Kokoda.

BATTLE OF BRIGADE HILL

Maroubra Force withdrew to the next defensible strong point on the Track, a feature known as Mission Ridge.

BATTLEFIELD REMNANTS — 3" MORTAR CHARGE

Being an avid amateur historian, I relish the occasional "find" of artefacts and relics that manage to come to light, along the Kokoda Track.

AUSTRALIAN REMAINS AT EFOGI

To any trekker passing through Efogi 1 on the way up/down Mission Ridge from Brigade Hill, will most likely visit the little museum located in the centre of the village.

AN&MEF

Straining at their oars, the twenty-five naval troops from the cruiser HMAS Sydney rowed towards their landing place of Herbertshohe, south east of the port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain.

Battle of Wau

Between 1943 and 1945 the largest series of interconnected operations ever undertaken by the Australian military was fought in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea at Wau, Salamaua–Lae, the Finisterre Range, Huon Peninsula and Aitape–Wewak.

Battle of Salamaua

Japanese moves against Wau, indeed any offensive action by the enemy in New Guinea, became impossible after Allied aircraft destroyed a major Japanese naval troop convoy at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2 – 4 March 1943).

Kokoda Campaign

The Kokoda Campaign, which took place during World War II, holds significant historical importance in Papua New Guinea. Situated in the Owen Stanley Range, this grueling battle involved Australian forces defending against the advancing Japanese army. The strategic objective of the Japanese forces was to capture Port Moresby, a critical location in the Territory of Papua. The Kokoda Campaign was a pivotal moment in the larger context of the war in the Pacific. It followed the Battle of the Coral Sea, where the Japanese advanced towards Papua New Guinea. The campaign lasted from July to November 1942 and included notable engagements such as Oivi-Gorari and the Battle of the Coral.