Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our newsletter readers. Thanks for your support in 2011 and we look forward to a great 2012.

The year 2012 marks the 70th anniversary of the Kokoda Campaign so it will be extra special this year and we have some new tours to commemorate this 70th anniversary year.

Lark Force 70th Anniversary Tour

Kokoda Historical offers extra special ANZAC Day pilgrimages which include an extra day on your tour, which gives a total of 11 nights sleeping on the Kokoda Track. We spend 10 days trekking of which 2 of these days are half-days.

This trip is a special one taking in some extra places of interest that other tours groups very rarely see. We will make our way from Owers’ Corner in time to reach Isurava on ANZAC eve, where we will be met by the ladies from Kokoda Village who will treat us to a banquet at our campsite.

Waking up on the Isurava Battlefield we will attend the official ANZAC Day Dawn Service overlooking the beautiful Yodda Valley. Where we will pay tribute to the soldiers who served and to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in order to defend Australia.

Trekkers also have the option to continue on to the Northern Beachheads of Gona, Buna and Sanananda, an important part of the Kokoda story seldom seen by most trekkers. Places are limited to a maximum of 12 trekkers.

The dates for our ANZAC 2012 Tours are as follows:

15 - 27 April 2012

(Owers’ – Kokoda, ANZAC Day at Isurava)

15 - 30 April 2012

(Owers’ – Kokoda - Beachheads, ANZAC Day at Isurava)

Upcoming event - 2/22 Battalion (Lark Force Association) 70th Anniversary

Event: 2/22 Battalion (Lark Force Association) 70th Anniversary

When: Sunday 22 January, 2:30pm

Where: Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne Wreath Laying in the Sanctuary at the Shrine of Remembrance Melbourne

Shrine Representative: Shrine Life Governor Colonel George Mackenzie OBE RFD

Starboard side view of the Japanese passenger vessel MV Montevideo Maru

The 23rd of January 1942 was the day that the Japanese forces landed in Rabaul on the island of New Britain PNG and overran the men of the "Lark Force". We also remember the men executed at Tol plantation and the POW's and civilians lost on the "Montevideo Maru" which was sunk on the way to Japan. This service is held on the closest Sunday prior to January 23rd each year. Click this link to Read More about this event.

Harry Bould Competiton 2012 Winners!

Kokoda Historical is proud to support the 39th Battalion’s Harry Bould Memorial Trek for 2012, the 3rd year in a row.

This year's winners of the Harry Bould Memorial Competition were Indiana Byrne from KooWeeRup Secondary College and Harry Brown from Beaconhills College and have each won a trek across the Kokoda Track.

This year's winners of the Harry Bould Memorial Trek!

Indiana Byrne from KooWeeRup Secondary College and Harry Brown from Beaconhills College.

The 39th Battalion’s Harry Bould Memorial Trek for 2012 was recently launched at the office of Edward O’Donohue MP. Each year the 39th Battalion Association in conjunction with the Cardinia Shire run an essay competition for local school students. This year’s winners are will be off to trek Kokoda in June 2012. On the way they will pass through the village of Oivi. This is near to the place that Harold Bould of “B” Company 39th Battalion was killed in action on July 29th 1942, only 3 days after Captain Sam Templeton went missing and only 8 days after the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea commenced.

Kuttabul Commemoration Project