Soc & Robyn Kienzle with the original Kokoda Flag!

This coming November we will be running an extra special trip, timed to walk into Kokoda for the inaugural Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels Day. This day of celebration of the contributions and achievements of Papua New Guineans during WWII will be a long overdue and moving tribute to the many men who gave their all supporting our troops during the Campaign. Soc Kienzle plans to be there with the actual Australian flag that was raised by General Vasey on the afternoon of 3rd November 1942, with Capt Bert Kienzle by his side. Celebrations will centre around the  flag raising ceremony  on a site near the end of the Kokoda plateau, close to where Colonel Owen was killed and the Memorial to the Fuzzy Wuzzies built and paid for by Bert Kienzle in 1957. You can be part of this exciting tribute as Kokoda Historical will be waking the track from Owers’ Corner to Kokoda in time for the ceremony. We will be met by Soc Kienzle and treated to a special banquet dinner the night before the ceremony. You can share in this great adventure and historic tribute. Please contact our head guide and historian David Howell direct on 0405 007 700 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Photo of the original flag being raised over Kokoda Village.  It has been reported that the man who actually raised the flag was a soldier of the 3rd Infantry Battalion, AMF by the name of Merv SHEA from Yass.

Soc revealed that this flag had been dropped onto Kokoda Airstrip on the 2nd of November, 1942 by an American fighter pilot in a U.S. Army P40 Kittyhawk (dubbed Warhawk by the Americans)  Perhaps this was done upon a request by Brigadier Ken Eather of the 25th Brigade, whose 2/31st Battalion was the first to enter the Village. Kokoda Historical and Komplete Kokoda are offering two great packages, the first package will take you from Owers' Corner to Kokoda and the second package willl take you all the way north to Gona, Buna and Sanananda. 

The dates are:

Battle of Eora Creek /Kokoda Day  - 3rd Nov Celebration Tour *
25 October – 5 November 2010: Ower’s Corner to Kokoda
25 October – 8 November 2010: Ower’s Corner to the Beachheads

The winners of the 39^th Battalion’s Harry Bould Essay Competition have just completed their Kokoda Track and Northern Beachheads tour. Liam Trigg and Lauren Harrison the two winners of the competition experienced the adventure and the history of Papua New Guinea first hand. With the chance to pay homage to the fallen whilst at the same time experiencing the history and culture, the two students had both a challenging and rewarding tour.


Liam & Lauren visting the names of the missing at Bomana.

Harry Bould whom the competition is named after grew up in the township of Cardinia. He died in Kokoda Village eight days after the Japanese landed on the North Coast of New Guinea on the 29^th of July 1942. His remains have never been found. Mrs Masie Darlow who is the last living relative of Harry Bould hopes that the essay competition will not only honour the memory of her brother but will also honour the many Australian soldiers that also lost their lives in the Kokoda Campaign.

Pte Harry Bould

Both Liam and Lauren placed a photograph of Harry Bould next to his name in the museum at Kokoda. The inscription simply said:

‘In memory of Pte Harry Bould, 39^th Battalion, KIA 29 July 1942 in the defence of Kokoda. Harry is survived by his sister, Mrs Masie Darlow who  is still living and resides in Victoria. To this day Harry has no known grave and his family have little closure.This photograph is placed here by Lauren Harrison and Liam Trigg, both students won the Harry Bould Essay Competition and completed the Kokoda Track in memory of all those who gave their today in order for us to enjoy our tomorrow’.


Back row (L-R) Trek Leader Mr David Howell, essay winner: Liam Trigg, Member for Bass, Mr Ken Smith MP and essay winner: Lauren Harrison.
Font row (L-R) 39th Battalion veterans, Mr Allan 'Kanga' Moore, Mr Ted Stuart and Mr Jack Duffy.

It is with great sadness that we bring to you the news that one of the true heroes of the Kokoda Campaign has passed away. Don Simonson MC passed away on July 11, 2010 aged 90 years. Our thoughts are with his family and his memory will certainly live on for generations to come.



Don Simonson was award the Military Cross for his actions at Deniki in August 1942. Don was a member of the famous 39th Battalion and served as Officer Commanding 20 Platoon of E Company. Lt Simonson personally went forward and silenced two Japanese machine guns by lobbing grenades at them. His action undoubtedly saved many of his men as the 39th were making their withdrawal back to Isurava.

'Lest We Forget'

New Australia-PNG Kokoda Track Agreement

Today both Australia and Papua New Guinea have signed a new agreement to protect the values of the Kokoda Track. Kokoda Historical are particularly pleased to hear that the agreement covers a number of key objectives, starting with a safe and well-managed Kokoda Track which honours its wartime historical significance and protects and promotes it special values.

Mr Smith, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Mr Abal, Papua New Guinea's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration, signed the Second Joint Understanding (2010-15) between Papua New Guinea and Australia on the Owen Stanley Ranges, Brown River Catchment and Kokoda Track region.

Not only will this mean better conditions for the villagers who live along the Kokoda Treack, it also will ensure that the Kokoda Track is protected for future generations of Australians who wish to identify with their history. There is also mention of a possible World Heritage listing nomination.

To read more please click here.

"Lost" Kokoda Battlefield of Eora Creek

Recently you may have seen the program about the so-called "lost" Kokoda Battlefield of Eora Creek. The Sunday Night program on Channel Seven recently show cased a story regarding this subject. The program implied that the battlefield on the Australian advance in October of 1942 (Eora Creek) had been recently re-discovered. Kokoda Historical has been visiting the Eora Creek battlefield for many years and so too have many other trekking companies. One excursion lead by Kokoda Historical in 2007 followed the route taken by Capt Sanderson (2/1st Battalion) and his party in what is to be believed to be one the fiirst attempts by the 16 Brigade against the Japanese right flank. This Japanese right flank certainly included the area of ground depicted in the channel seven story, in particular the site of the Japanese mountain gun position.

This location housed at least one model 92 mountain gun and the larger model  94 mountain gun; as is evident by the number of spent shells from both of these types of weapons. Kokoda Historical have also been visting the area located on the top of the ridge above the mountain gun position, this area is believed to be the location of the Japanese hospital. We are dissapointed at the information supplied to the Channel Seven program as the program seemed to be insinuating that the battle of Eora Creek had disappeared from the annuals of Australian Military History. There was talk that remains of missing war dead have been found, one can only hope that the Commonwealth War Graves have been notified. Kokoda Historical is also concerned that items from the museum located at the village of Alola were taken to another location and used in the program. This is an obvious attempt to bolster up the amount of detritus located in the area. If you look at the program's website you will see this following pictures: Click Here 

In these photographs one can clearly see the type 92 Japanese machine gun. Below you will see a photo taken outside the door of the museum at Alola in 2007. This was done with permission from the owner. Gary Traynor (Kokoda Historical Historian) required a clear picture in daylight in order to use in his research and it must be stated that the weapon did not leave the area outside the museum.


Japanese Type 92 Machine Gun for use on aircraft,
note the broken trigger guard identiclal to that used
on the Sunday Tonight program.

The weapon is a Type 92 used in aircraft and is believed to have come from the Japanese plane wreck located above Isurava (See Bill James, Field Guide to the Kokoda Track p.365). This is the only example of this rare type of weapon that only entered the Kokoda campaign by accident certainly not something that was used by soldiers on either side at Eora Creek, I would also suggest that the Australian Bren Gun in the Channel Seven program also came from the same museum.

To hear what Soc Kienzle the son of the famous Bert Kienzle has to say about this issue visit his blog: Click Here

In 2005 David Howell our head trek leader visited several battlesites along the Kokoda Track with Mr Don Oughtred. Don was a member of the 16th Brigade serving in the 2/3rd Battalion. Don recalled to David that the battle of Eora Creek was such a terrible experience that even to this day he is unable to speak fully of the events that unfolded during this pivotal moment in the Australian advance in October of 1942.
Mr Don Oughtred 2/3 Battalion, Mr Lloyd Birdsall 14th Field Regiment
Mr David Howell (Kokoda Historical) Mr Mark Edwell (President Friends of Kokoda)
In PNG for the filming of Beyond Kokoda for the History Channel in 2005

Read the full story please go to this link Eora Creek
Also please check out our related story on The Manusu Brothers, the Australian saving private Ryan story!

The story of Con's Rock 

Have you ever walked passed the flat stone on your way either to or from Isurava Battlefield? If so you may have been told this is Con's rock and this is the location an amputation was carried out. Have you ever wondered who exactly was Con? Gary Traynor from Kokoda Historical recently compiled this story.

To gain an understanding of the men who made up the First AIF during the Great War, one needs only to study the works of Charles Edwin Woodrow BEAN (C.E.W. BEAN). Arguably, he is one of Australia’s greatest historians. Volume one in the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, gives us a vivid account of these men who stormed the shores of Gallipoli in 1915. In doing so, these diggers weaved a vital thread in the fabric, of what it is to be an Australian …“the Spirit of Anzac”.   

Kokoda Historical merges with Komplete Kokoda

Kokoda Historical is excited and pleased to announce that they have gone into partnership with Komplete Kokoda. We have now combined forces in order to provide the foremost expert tour company for Kokoda History.

Of all the tour companies, and there are approximately 80 of them servicing the Kokoda Track, Soc Kienzle (son of Capt Bert Kienzle) has chosen the fellows at Kokoda Historical, because he believes that the genuinely share with him the same determination to get the 'history right' and help to protect and enhance the integrity of the Kokoda Track and its people. Of the many tour leaders Soc has met during his travels, he believes Kokoda Historical have shown the most willingness to learn from his unique knowledge and experience.

'Soc Kienzle'

This partnership has been developing for some time and both Komplete Kokoda and Kokoda Historical believe that by working together they can offer trekkers the best possible Kokoda Track experience on the market. At the end of 2010 Soc Kienzle and David Howell will both be on the Kokoda Track for a special trip. Soc will be raising the original Australian flag used in 1942 to signal the re-capture of Kokoda!

You too can share in this unique Kokoda experience, for more information please see Kokoda Day Trek, 2010 (Please refer Soc's Kokoda Blog for further details).

Please take the time to visit www.kompletekokoda.com.au

Sam Templeton

WHAT HAPPENED TO UNCLE SAM?

Captain Sam Templeton V50190

You may have heard the name Sam Templeton in the media of late. Sam Templeton of the 39th Battalion went missing on the 26 July 1942. He is an important figure in the Kokoda story. Recently the Japanese veteran Kokichi Nishimura (AKA The Bone Man of Kokoda) returned to PNG where he has been reported to have stated that he personally buried the body of Captain Sam Templeton near the village of Oivi, located north of Kokoda and has now revealed this location to Wayne Weatherall of Kokoda Spirit. Latest reports from our sources here in Australia and in PNG indicate that Templeton's remains have in fact not been located.