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8 unusual facts about Kokoda


49th Operations Group

The 49th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

7th Fighter Squadron

The squadron participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

8th Fighter Squadron

The 8th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

9th Attack Squadron

The 9th participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Kokoda Track, took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943, fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea.

Airlines PNG Flight 4684

The Airlines PNG aircraft, a de Havilland Twin Otter, was travelling in bad weather, when it crashed on the eastern slope of the Kokoda Gap about 11 km south-east of Kokoda.

Jack Finsterer

He starred as Jack Scholt in the epic Australian film Kokoda (2006).

Robert's river garfish

Robert's river garfish (Zenarchopterus robertsi) is a species of viviparous halfbeak endemic to Papua New Guinea where it is only known from the area around Kokoda.

Sam Templeton

He is well known for his actions with the 39th Battalion as the commander of 'B' Company during the First Battle of Kokoda and went missing in action on the 26 July 1942 near the village of Oivi.


Kokoda Track

The Kokoda Track Foundation was established in 2003, to help villages along the Kokoda Track by assisting with their education and healthcare, by trying to protect their environment, by helping to foster the growth of an eco-friendly trekking and tourism industry from which they can benefit, by working to keep the story of Kokoda alive, and by seeking to identify and foster the next generation of PNG leaders.

Northern Expressway

The interchanges/bridges along the expressway were all named after famous battles in which Australian forces fought, such as Long Tan, Kokoda, Tobruk and Kapyong.

Sam Templeton

Wayne Wetherall, a PNG campaign historian and the founder of the Kokoda Spirit trekking company, travelled to Japan in 2009 to meet Kokichi Nishimura, one of the last survivors of the Japanese 144th Regiment to ask him about Templeton.

Tomitarō Horii

As a result, after landing in the BunaGarara area in July 1942, Horii led a column of 8,500 men of the IJA 144th Regiment overland on the Kokoda Trail over the treacherous Owen Stanley mountain range in an attempt to capture Port Moresby.


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