The first series of IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS will be 10 one-hour episodes. In each episode viewers will join a descendant of our veterans is they take an uniquely personal journey of discovery - literally walking in their forebears' footsteps - to learn what their loved ones

The first episode features searcher, Julie Bryce, as she retraces the remarkable experiences of her great uncle Tommy Johnson, who survived the sinking of the HMAS Perth only to suffer the horrors of the Thai-Burma Railway, then another hellish trip to Japan, during which he was again shipwrecked, to be taken to a POW camp in Tokyo, then to meet an astonishing fate.

Subsequent episodes will take us to the sacred shore at Gallipoli, to the killing fields of the WWI's Western Front in France, up the deadly Kokoda Track, to relive Spitfire dogfights over Malta, the secret world of the Z Specials in Borneo, the terrifying bombing raids on Darwin and to Vietnam and Korea.

Patrick conceived the format for IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS as he watched the growing number of Australians who were making pilgrimages to honour their forebears to iconic battle sites like the Kokoda Track, to Gallipoli, Fromelles and Villers-Bretonneux.

"I firmly believe that you can't know where you're heading unless you know where you've come from," Patrick said. "The service and sacrifice of our veterans is deeply embedded in our national DNA and a growing number of Australians want to find out more about their stories.

"IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS will give all Australians the chance to watch over the searchers' shoulders s they make their emotional journeys. Each family's story reveals the devastating impact of war on those who stayed at home and waited and it traces the impact on subsequent generations." 

Shine Australia is producing IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS. The Executive Producer is Michael Caulfield (Australians At War) and the Series Producer is former ABC and 60 Minutes' Producer, Jonathan Harley.

I’ll never forget watching Stan as he stood in front of his beloved brother Butch’s grave at Bomana War Cemetery outside Port Morseby. It was August 1998 during what Stan and his fellow Kokoda Diggers called The Last Parade, their pilgrimage to say a final farewell to the mates they left behind. 

It was the first time Stan had visited the grave since Butch had died in his arms on the Track 56 years earlier. He stood there silently for a long time.  I could see the emotions surging through him.  As always, he stood ramrod straight but tears welled in his noble eyes as the memories flooded back. 

There before him lay Butch, his life cut short by the terrible random selection of war like so many others on the Track. Stan had vowed to lead a good and productive life to honour Butch’s sacrifice. And he had been as good as his word.  He had raised a fine family, forged a long and successful career and had done all in his power to keep Butch’s memory and the story of Kokoda alive. 

While I watched, Stan gently wiped the tears from his eyes with his powerful hands and then brought them to his side. He squared his shoulders and paused. Then he swept his right arm up in a crisp, practised salute: an homage from a warrior, a farewell from a brother.

Stan has a deep rooted sense of duty and an unshakeable sense of honour. He had, and still has, star quality: that indefinable amalgam of physical presence and character that sets the remarkable ones apart. He was a genuine sporting hero who blossomed into a military hero in the cauldron of war. 

I vividly remember when I met him for the first time, doing interviews with the veterans for a documentary. My immediate thought was that they’ve ordered a hero from Central Casting and they’ve sent the perfect specimen.

Stan’s former commanding officer and lifelong friend, the late Phil Rhoden, told me that Stan had no time to grieve for Butch during the battles along the Track and took many years to recover from the loss. Like so many other Kokoda veterans, the campaign was one of the defining experiences of Stan’s life. Somehow, Stan dealt with the blows and got on with his life. 

Stan Bisset is quite simply one the finest men I have met. I have been privileged to call him a friend and a mentor for twenty years. He personified so many attributes of the Digger to me: courage (both moral and physical); compassion; selflessness; independence; loyalty; resourcefulness; devotion; coolness; and humour.

He carried himself with the bearing of a natural leader and a champion sportsman.  Even as he neared his century, he continued to inspire me and all those who know him with his dogged refusal to surrender any ground to Father Time. 

Since the rediscovery of the Kokoda story about 15 years ago, barely a day would go by without someone wanting to contact Stan and meet him. Without fail, he gave his time and his support.

In 2000, Stan was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to veterans, particularly through the 2/14^th Battalion Association.

Stan is survived by Gloria and his children and grandchildren

Stan Bisset, like his story, is timeless.

Hundreds were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes when Cyclone Guba hit the province. Around 60 bridges and almost 100 schools were lost in the disaster.

Two years on, and just a handful of temporary bridges have been put in place. Thousands still live under tarpaulins in temporary shelters and kids are being taught in bush lean-tos. Much of the province is still cut off from the main thoroughfare for food and basic supplies – the road to Kokoda from the port of Oro Bay and the town of Popondetta.

Just when you think things couldn’t get worse, two things happen: first, the region suffers more floods during last month’s torrential rain; and second, it now seems the government has lost the funds it committed for the province’s rebuilding.

Yes, that’s right, the Kina 60 million earmarked for the restoration of the province’s infrastructure has apparently disappeared in Port Moresby!

In the latest issue of his PNG Attitude newsletter, respected commentator, Keith Jackson, writes:

“Over K60 million allocated by the PNG Government for relief and restoration efforts after Cyclone Guba devastated Oro Province in 2007 has ‘gone missing’. Provincial authorities briefed Public Services Minister Peter O’Neill of the situation but were not able to say where the money had gone.”

The Province’s administrator, Owen Awaita, was quoted as saying that K11 million had been allocated for restoration work during the state of emergency declared following the disaster and another K50 million had been “parked” at the Treasury Department in Port Moresby. Unbelievably, apparently all this money has disappeared.

In addition, a further K600,000 committed to land owners in Girua village, north east of Kokoda, allegedly had not been paid, prompting the villagers to ban authorities from their land until the payment is made.

The time has come for the PNG to show some political will and some transparency. Any qualified accountant could trace the missing funds within days.

While this disgraceful abrogation of responsibility continues, the people of Oro – many of whom are the descendants of the beloved Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels – are relying on NGOs like the Kokoda Track Foundation and the Anglican Church for food and water. They are being denied justice and access to basic resources. Their children are being denied a future.

The PNG Government cannot proclaim its success in securing massive gas projects while turning a blind eye to massive fraud and ignoring the plight of so many of its people.



It’s a great age: an age when you have more time to consider things and when you can spend more time doing the things you love, rather than the things you have to do.  It’s an age when you even feel like you’re starting to gain some wisdom - or at least some perspective.

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves some of life’s really tough questions. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? How can I be the best that I can? What percentage of my potential do I normally achieve? And what is the main internal obstacle preventing me from achieving more?

For most of us the answer to that last question is fear.  Fear of failure.  Fear of pushing outside the boundaries we draw around ourselves. When we realise that most of our boundaries are illusions, we can set ourselves free.

I’m convinced that it’s never too late to be what you might have been! It’s never too late to push through your boundaries … to open your mind … to make your own decisions … to do something great.

In case you think it might be too late for you, consider a few examples: 

Consider Ray’s case. He was 52, diabetic, arthritic and had gall bladder and thyroid problems. He’d dropped out of high school, worked as a chalkie in a broker’s firm, sold paper cups, even tried his hand as a jazz musician.  He was selling milkshake machines when he met two blokes named Mac and Dick who owned a restaurant.  Ray saw the potential and followed his dream. Ray Krok bought the restaurant from the McDonald brothers and gave birth to the Golden Arches.  It wasn’t too late.

It was never too late for Nelson Mandela either.   He began his real career on the world stage at 72.  And what an impact he has had and is still having!

Winston Churchill took over as Prime Minister of Britain at the age of 65 and guided his nation through to victory in WWII at the age of 71. Coincidentally, both John Winston Howard and Edward Gough Whitlam were both 56 when they became Prime Minister.

My great friend, Stan Bisset, is about to turn 97.  He’s one of the heroes of the Kokoda campaign and our oldest living Wallaby rugby international.  Some circulation problems recently left him with a leg sore that wouldn’t heal. Did he lie back and accept it?  No, he did what he always has done: thought positive.  He checked things out on the net (yes, at 96!) and saw that some of the top footballers used hyperbaric chambers to improve blood flow for healing injuries.  So he organised a couple of weeks’ treatment in the chamber and solved his problem.  Now he’s working on a new exercise regime.  It’s never too late.

The one thing which has changed dramatically over our lifetimes is the pace of change. A very wise man once wrote: “Some people don’t like change.  Change couldn’t care less!”

It’s time to pause and reflect.  Whatever our age, whatever our stage in life, it’s never too late to take control of our destinies, to rethink our priorities, to rekindle our passions and to chase our dreams … and, most importantly, to have fun doing it!  Perhaps that bulging brain, Edward de Bono, summed it up best: “You can analyse the past but you have to design the future.”

It’s never too late to design your future!

(An article Patrick wrote for All About You, the magazine of the Queensland AMA)



Last year was wonderful year for our missing Diggers from three world wars: Jim Bourke and his team brough home the last of our remaining six missing Vietnam vets, the HMAS Sydney was finally located  and we confirmed that the mass graves at Pheasant Wood contained the remains of the missing soldiers from Fromelles.

The task of identifying the missing Fromelles Diggers is underway. But is it too little and perhaps too late?

The man behind the discovery of the Pheasant Wood missing, Lambis Englezos, is deeply concerned at the way the process of identification is heading. He, and many others, are also concerned at the paucity of detailed information emanating from the investingating team.
 
"There is a joint ownership, it is not blood specific.  It has been suggested to me that the descendants are our constituents.  With the recovery work at Pheasant Wood, I would suggest that our constituents are the soldiers of Pheasant Wood," Lambis says.

"Each of the soldiers will receive the dignity of individual reburial and hopefully, their identity.  I believe that every effort should be made to identify as many of the soldiers as possible.  To that end, I suggest that, if  LGC Forensics don't get viable DNA from particular soldiers, then we should go back and re-sample them before their final burial.  I ask that a full range of samples be taken, including load bearing bones, for example the femur and toe, and that those samples be sent elsewhere for testing.  We can't be held back by a restrictive tender process, professional pride or the dollar.  We must do everything we possibly can to get viable DNA  from each set of remains.  We must maximise the chances of identification."

And that's  thre central question at this stage: are we doing everything to maximise the chances of identifying the remains found at Pheasant Wood?

Lambis again: "Given the veracity of the German list, I had hoped that donor samples could have been taken earlier.  Once the decision was made to recover, samples could have been taken and sent over for matching, prior to the sitting of the Panel and before the soldiers are reburied.  I'm not a descendant, however, if I was, I'd rather be given the opportunity to be there for the burial of my soldier, rather than be there for the changing of a headstone.  Maybe it has all been too hasty, too neat. The process continues, research is fluid and ongoing.  There has been a lot of speculation, perhaps misinformation, this has been amplified by what some might say is a lack of transparency and inclusiveness."
 
"We are guessing that the majority of the 250 recoveries are Australian, especially if the pattern of recovery from the first three pits was repeated in the remaining pits.  As was suggested, they were not all at Pheasant Wood.  The question of alternative sites is apparent.  It has been contended that there is an even bigger British site behind the Wick Salient.  If there are 25 British among the Pheasant Wood recoveries, there are as many as 306 ''missing'' British  from the 19-7-16 battle.  The ''missing'' of the 9-5-15 battle of Aubers Ridge are also to be considered."
 
Lambis and his team forced the hand of the bureaucrats over Pheasant Wood. They encountered a solid wall of negativity and skepticism when they initially tried to persude them to investigate their claims. Without their tenacity and the weight of their research, the Fromelles missing would still be languishing unrecognised behind the wood at the foot of the town.

The bureaucrats are now concerned that Pheasant Wood has set a precedent that could open the floodgates for other discoveries of war dead. To me that's not even a consideration: we have a unbreakable moral obligation to recover our war dead, to try every means within our power to identify them and to give them a dignified individual burial

Lambis has no doubt: "What I saw at Pheasant Wood was certainly very grim and confirmed for me that they were not at rest. We had to recover.  We have a moral obligation, it offers dignity, hope, identity, ownership and pilgrimage. If our ''missing'' can be found, they should be recovered. The passage of time has not diminished our obligation, our honouring of their sacrifice. They will be restored."

On a positive note, it's possible that Tim Whitford's great uncle, Harry Willis, may be one of those who is identified by DNA matching with his descendants. Harry Willis' medallion was one of the first artefacts found during the original non-invasive examination of the Pheasant Wood site in 2007 and was one of the items confirming the presence of Australian remains in the graves. The Army's team of experts has asked for DNA samples from Harry Willis' surviving niece, Tim Whitford's grandmother, Marjorie Whitford from Yarram, Victoria.

The Army is seeking comparative DNA samples from two of Harry's descendants: Marjorie Whitford and Harry Willis' nephew "young" Harry Willis from Melbourne. Tim Whitford reports: "The experts believe these two sources offer the best chance of getting a match, should our soldier-relative's remains produce viable DNA, now that he is out of the burial pit and into a temporary mortuary."

Tim was concerned that other surviving relatives may feel slighted and added: "Please don't think that the choosing of these two DNA donors detract from your own contributions or indicate a lesser relationship to our soldier uncle, far from it. The two donors are simply the closest and best sources of a match with either Mt DNA or Paternal DNA based on uninterrupted female-female-female line or the shortest possible male-male line. To those who have supported our search and fight for Harry in any way over the years, thanks so much."

Tim points out that although DNA testing brings no certainties, it takes the family another step closer to the resolution they've sought for more than 90 years.

Let's hope this signals a concerted effort by the Army's experts to exhaust every avenue possible - including modern and ancient DNA testing - to identify the missing so as many as possible can be buried under a named headstone next year on the anniversary of the battle, July 19 2010 at the new cemetery at Fromelles.

If you're a relative of one of the missing, please call the Army, between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday on 1800 019 090 and register your contact details so they can take DNA samples from you if needed.

Speaking at the Old Observatory, near the Melbourne Shrine, George was joined by his old comrades, Alan 'Kanga' Moore, Peter Holloway and John Briscoe. George welcomed the book and paid tribute to his comrades who never returned home.

"It is an essential part of our heritage that this story is kept alive. We were a unit that was unprepared for warfare. We had very little training for what was ahead of us, having spent months unloading boats and digging fortifications," George said.

"However, the tremendous bond which was developed is exemplified by the magnificent pillars at the memorial at Isuurava. They are Sacrifice, Mateship, Courage and Endurance. Each pillar signifies the tremendous spirit of the soldiers battling under overwhelming odds.

"When I returned there a couple of years ago, I sat on a log looking back through the valley towards Kokoda. I felt a great sense of serenity and peace which was so different to where the terrible carnage occurred."

George said he hoped the book would bring he and his mates' experiences to every Australian home.

"The men of Kokoda drew on an inner spirit to withstand overwhelming odds and prevail against a formidable foe. This same spirit lives on today and I believe ordinary Australians can use it to overcome obstacles in their own lives. We have seen this in times of crisis when Australians have banded together and selflessly helped each other -times like the Bali Bombing, Cyclone Katrina and our recent bushfires. You don’t have to walk the Track to understand the spirit of Kokoda and use it in your own life," he said.

"When you read Kokoda Spirit, think of us in 1942. We were not trained for the events that overtook us. We had no experience of such situations. We had no expectations of what we would find or have to do. This is the true essence of what these events should tell us today. The resilient Australian Spirit is shown in this new book and it gives a more human story to the events. Other veterans and I still talk about events in the world as they happen. Our bond goes back to the “Track”."

Speaking at the launch, Patrick said that in the book, for the first time, he tried to capture the spirit of Kokoda in words and pictures

"Last year I was talking with my cherished friend, Stan Bisset, around the time that he turned 96. As we chatted I found myself marvelling at him … at his quiet modesty, his noble carriage, his boundless energy, his grace and his refusal to surrender an inch to father time," he said.

"I began to think of the other men of Kokoda I’d met over the years. And how many were of the same calibre as Stan … so many of them now gone  … Phil Rhoden, a cherished friend and mentor, Ralph Honner, a prince among men, Teddy Bear, Alan Avery, Chas Butler, Maurie Taafe, Sam and Charlie Pike, Harry Mortimore, Doug McLean, Laurie Howson, Stew Gedye, Spud Whelan and many more.

"I thought of those whom I never met but whose sacrifices created the Kokoda legend … Bruce Kingsbury, Charlie McCallum, Butch Bisset, Claude Nye and Lefty Langridge, John Metson, Sam Templeton, Bill Owen, Mocca Treacy, Bob Dougherty, Alan Haddy and so many others who now sleep at Bomana.

"And finally, I thought of those Kokoda men still with us, men who’ve become friends and who ensure the stories of their mates are passed on … George Palmer, Col Blume, Dud Warhurst, Bede Tongs, Arnold Forrester, Ken Phelan, J.D. McKay, Harry Barkla, Peter Holloway, Kanga Moore and many other wonderful characters.

"They were, and are, special people … from a remarkable generation of Australians.

“Interviewing the Diggers I became aware of the spirit they possessed. Some, like Ralph Honner and Phil Rhoden, could describe it beautifully. Others simply lived it.

"Ralph Honner described the superhuman performance of his young diggers of the 39^th Battalion – men who had never fired a shot in anger before the cataclysmic battle at Isurava and yet were able to hold off a battle-hardened enemy that outnumbered them by six to one until they were reinforced: 'Indeed, the strangest feature of their story is that the weaker they became, the stronger and fiercer waxed their resolution to hold on at all costs until the long-promised relief should become a reality.  In the testing crucible of conflict, out of a welter of defeats and disasters, of mistakes and misfortunes, of isolated successes and precipitate withdrawals, they were transformed by some strong catalyst of the spirit into a devoted band wherein every man’s failing strength was fortified and magnified by a burning resolve to stick by his mates.'

"Phil Rhoden was the commander of the battalion which relieved Ralph Honner’s young men. Many years ago, I asked Phil to define the spirit that enabled the Australians to prevail on the Track. He thought about it for a long time and he said: 'Interdependence, one upon each other … the ability to fight on when there’s scarcely a breath left in your body … and, finally, respect for each other.'

"The story of the battles along the Kokoda Track and their importance to Australia is now comparatively well known.  The word Kokoda is recognised, indeed, revered by many Australians. And, after all these years, the men of Kokoda are receiving some recognition for their sacrifices and their achievements.

"Yet, still, I believe, there remains confusion about the spirit, which sustained these remarkable men. For a start, it won’t die with them. It’s a spirit we can all use today. The fact is that we’ll all walk our personal Kokoda Tracks at some time in our lives.  It may be the death of a loved one … the loss of a job … a marriage break-up … illness … a child battling an addiction.

“I received a wonderful bonus during the latter stages when I was once again chatting with Stan. I was showing him some of the shots I’d taken on the Track for the book when, out of the blue, he mentioned that he’d had a camera on the track.

"He completely gobsmacked me! I said ‘Stan I’ve known you 20 years and you’ve never mentioned that before.’ In his wonderfully understated way, he said ‘Yes, I don’t know where I got it from … Dad must have sent it up, I s’pose.’ When I asked whether he still had any of the shots, he asked his beloved Gloria and, twenty minutes later, Glor emerged with a box full of about 50 wonderful prints … some absolutely iconic.

"They’ve never been published before and they give the book a special insight, an aura … as do those given to me by other diggers, like George and Phil Rhoden’s widow Pat.

"I wrote this book … to explore the spirit that sustained these men; to celebrate it; and to try to bring it to life in words and images. I had a vision for this book – inspired by the works of Carla Coulson, Italian Joy and Paris Tango. I wanted try to express the spirit of Kokoda equally in words and pictures. I wanted the result to be unique among the works dealing with the subject.

"And the team from Hardie Grant has turned that vision into reality. I’m delighted with the production.

"It’s dedicated to Stan and Phil and George and all the men of Kokoda … and it’s aimed at all those who have walked the Track, following in their footsteps, or all those who wish they could walk it.

"I hope it does them, and the spirit of Kokoda justice."

In doing so the giant London organization has recognized the excellence of its tiny Fromelles counterpart by seeking permission to borrow some artefacts from the battle. (Some artefacts from the battlefield at the Fromelles Museum at left)

The small but superb Fromelles Musee de la Guerre, run by a local organisation called the Association pour le Souvenir de la Bataille de Fromelles, will provide a number of objects found on the battlefield.

The driving force behind the Fromelles Museum, Martial Delebarre, confirmed he had responded to the request suggesting four objects: a spoon from a British soldier; a Rising Sun Australian insignia; an imperial tobacco pipe; and a compass belonging to a British officer.

“I have sent photos of these objects to London. I am now waiting for their response. The objects will be lentprepared for 5 years, the length of the exposition,” he said.

M Delabarre added that the London Science Museum planned to dedicate one of its galleries to the search of Pheasant Wood, focusing on the identification, using DNA, of the remains of the exhumed Australian and British soldiers and Australian soldiers.

The Pheasant Wood resulted from a six-year quest by Australian amateur historian Lambis Englezos and his team of supporters, in Australia and overseas.

The Imperial War Museum is apparently also considering an exhibition on Fromelles. The hope is that these two expositions will coincide for several weeks around the time of the official commemoration of the new Fromelles village cemetery, on the 19^th July next year. This cemetery will receive the exhumed remains of the Australian and British soldiers recently exhumed from the mass graves where they were buried by the Germans in the days following the battle on July 19 1916.

The news is a wonderful recognition of the work of those who have for so long fought to recover the Fromelles Missing and it’s a fitting honour for the Missing themselves and for their families, who have waited for almost a century for resolution.

Let’s hope it prompts the authorities to redouble their efforts to use all available means, especially DNA, to identify as many of the Missing as possible before next year’s re-interment so they can be buried under their names.

George fought at the Battle of Isurava and later in the campaign. He is circled in the adjacent photo and is one of only two Diggers still with us from the famous Damien Parer photograph showing the young men of the 39th Battalion slogging their way through the mud up the Track heading for Kokoda.

Now, 88, George had just turned 21 when he and his mates faced the Japanese invaders. The 39th Battalion, brilliantly led by Lt Col Ralph Honner, was able to hold up the Japanese at Isurava against overwhelming odds. They held on just long enough to be reinforced by the 2/14th Battalion which had been rushed back from the Middle East to help defend Australia.

Kokoda Spirit explores the spirit that enabled the Diggers to finally prevail against the battle-hardened Japanese invaders, despite it being their baptism of fire and being out-gunned and out-numbered.

The book is a richly-illustrated production, featuring many photos taken by one of the heroes of the campaign, Stan Bisset, that have never before been published, along with scores of specially-taken images of the Track from Patrick and noted Australian photographer Ross Eason, giving the reader as close as possible an impression of the place and its aura.

The book also includes many aerial photos giving an unique view of the remarkable terrain and a special 'virtual trek' created with the help of cinematographer and trek leader Paul Croll.

The book will appeal to all those who have walked in the footsteps of the Diggers, those who are planning to do so and those who wonder what the Track's attraction is all about.

The Track crosses some of the harshest terrain in the world, set in a tropical pressure cooker.  It’s more accurately described as a climb rather than a walk.  It’ll push your cardio-vascular endurance to previously unexplored limits.  It’ll give your knees and quads the ultimate examination: many sections are over slopes so steep you can put your hand out and touch the ground in front of you. And then there are the descents, which produce what the Diggers called ‘laughing knees’ – trembles from the unaccustomed repetition of clambering down, lurching from rock, to tree root to crevice. Someone used a GPS to calculate that these relentless up-and-downs along the Track are the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.

Perhaps the numbers of those who have made the crossing in recent years have created the impression that anyone can do it.  If so, rest assured, it’s a false impression.

To understand the terrain, imagine rainforest jungle like Australia’s Daintree, then lay it thickly over PNG’s mighty Owen Stanley mountain range, which climbs twice as high as Mount Kosciusko and is made up of a wicked series of shark-toothed ridgelines over scores of raging white-water rivers and creeks spilling from the heights.

There are no roads, just a tiny, meandering, often treacherous, native walking path that winds its way through the maze.  In some places it’s only as wide as a human body – a temporary passageway forced by machete through the dense foliage.  Elsewhere, it opens to a majestic jungle cathedral topped by a thick tree canopy 50 metres high.  But mostly it’s a series of tenuous footholds up the towering hillsides, along knife-edged ridges, down the sheer gullies and across the streams, many of which can only be crossed by inching over a fallen tree trunk.

Even those who are fit for other sports must train specifically for the Track’s unique demands: the long hours of walking (sometimes ten hours a day); the enervating humidity; the dramatic loss of fluids through sweating, requiring constant hydration; the strains on joints and muscles; and the effects of a relentless sun.

Ultimately, each trekker must take responsibility for his or her fitness for the challenge. There is danger in the journey. The quest is great but the rewards are equally substantial.

Walking the Kokoda Track is a life-changing experience – an immense physical, emotional and spiritual challenge. It’s also a fascinating journey of personal exploration and one of the most deeply satisfying achievements most of us will ever claim.

The latest tragedy - another trekker lost, a father brimming with passion and walking to raise funds to help Camp Quality - has brought out the usual criticisms from the usual suspects. But what we need is positive leadership to unite our efforts rather than another storm of negativity.

The Australian and PNG Governments - through their joint Kokoda Initiative - have been working together to improve the operation of the trekking industry and to bring benefits to the communities along the Track.

The revamped Kokoda Track Authority (KTA), the PNG local authority empowered to administer trekking, is trying to set guidelines and oversee their implementation.  (The KTA is being assisted by a number of temporary Australian administrators, who will mentor their local successors over the next two years.)

The Kokoda trekking industry has grown in a rapid and freeform manner, especially over the last decade.  Around 6000 trekkers make the crossing each year, generating up to $50m annually.  It is PNG’s biggest tourist attraction.

Many individuals and organisations have benefitted greatly from this growth. Air Niugini and Qantas have made windfall gains from this massive increase in traffic and trekking operators have made handsome profits, the vast bulk of which comes back to Australia.

How much of this money has filtered back to the people living along the Track, over whose land we walk?  The answer, sadly, is a pittance. 

The only money that directly benefits the Track communities comes from the tiny amounts trekkers pay for food and local craft items (most trekking companies advise their trekkers to bring about 200 Kina in cash, or about $85, for this purpose); from the earnings of local porters and guides (around 60 Kina a day); and from campsite fees (about 20 Kina per person).

Each trekker is supposed to pay a 200 Kina ($85) trekking fee to the KTA. These fees are then used to upgrade community facilities along the Track and to administer and monitor trekking.

Unfortunately, the original KTA was dysfunctional and many Australian-based trekking companies failed to pay this fee in the past. But the new KTA is collecting and distributing this income and Track communities are starting to benefit from it.

In addition, the benefits of the Kokoda Initiative’s Development Program, largely delivered through AusAid, are starting to be seen on the ground.

All the while, NGOs like the Kokoda Track Foundation and Rotary continue to deliver their aid programs to help improve the lives of the local people in education, health and community development.

What we need most is a coordinated approach to helping our nearest neighbour.  The Kokoda Track Foundation has created a forum, called Kokoda Link, to serve as an online community notice board.

If you have a Kokoda project:

If you have a philanthropic organisation with an interest in Kokoda:

• please consider supporting an existing project that accords with your aims, or
• if you plan a new project, check how it affects existing projects

If you just have a passion for Kokoda you can help in a variety of ways:

• Join the Kokoda Track Foundation
• Support its projects (eg Adopt An Angel under which $300 will pay for a primary school scholarship for a year)
• Support other projects on Kokoda Link