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History–Tours
1942July – November 1942 · Kokoda Track

Kokoda Track campaign

A walker on the Kokoda Track crossing open fields between Kokoda and Isurava in Papua New Guinea
Photo: Luke Brindley. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Japanese forces landed on New Guinea's north coast and pushed south over the Owen Stanley Range along the Kokoda Track towards Port Moresby. Outnumbered Australian militia and regular battalions, supported by Papuan carriers, fought a withdrawal through mud and jungle before the Japanese turned back within sight of the town. For Australians it is a defining wartime memory.

Travel advisory. Trekking needs a Kokoda Track Authority permit and a licensed operator; several governments urge a high degree of caution in Papua New Guinea. We list this event for reference, and don't list guides here until travel is possible again.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Bomana War Cemetery, Port MoresbyLargest war cemetery in the Pacific, with Kokoda dead.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Isurava battlefield memorialFour granite pillars on the ridge of a key battle.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Kokoda stationNorthern end of the track, with a memorial and small museum.Map ↗

More from the Second World War

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.