If you have the time, Kokoda the Stairway to Hell contains some great interviews with veterans such as Bill Guest, Ted Stuart, J.D. McKay to name just a few. Hear the story as told by the veterans.

Today five No Roads Expeditions guides attended a conference about the Kokoda campaign in WWII in PNG organised by the Military History and Heritage Victoria organisation and hosted at the Camberwell RSL. The conference was very interesting with a range of presentations that covered different topics such as the air war over PNG, jungle warfare, sea power naval involvement, an interesting session on planning exhibitions, and a presentation on Australians and their pilgrimage and penance visiting the PNG battlefields by David Howell from Kokoda Historical.

A very special part of the conference was meeting and having a yarn with three Kokoda veterans from the 39th Battalion: John Akhurst (98), Wallace Carr and Bill Stuart.  They were able to answer questions about their experience on the front line with John able to recount in amazing detail aspects of events that occurred 74 years ago!

The Australian Army History Unit focuses on a range of historically significant of events in the history of Australia's Army. These articles link directly to a range of blog entries relating to many of the key actions in Papua New Guinea along the Kokoda Track, or relevant to the campaign. The are well worth a read along with other history information we have provided on this website.

In early 1942 the Japanese set their sights on capturing Papua & New Guinea. A series of defensive battles at Milne Bay and along the Kokoda Track, as well as the naval victories in the Coral Sea and at Midway Island put the Japanese on the back foot. Then followed a series of Allied offensive operations that drove the Japanese back and provided the springboard for General Douglas MacArthur’s successful advance into the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines.

This one day conference examines a critical period of Australia’s military history. This conference will include fresh analysis and insights from a highly informed and relevant range of historians and veterans. The conference, convened by Military History and Heritage Victoria Inc., will be held at the Pompey Elliot Memorial Hall at the Camberwell RSL on Saturday 16 April 2016.

More information: http://www.mhhv.org.au/?page_id=673&event_id=1019