MATESHIP: ANZAC and Kokoda Track

This morning saw Australians and New Zealanders stand at dawn in silent salute in honour of brave men and women who took a stand to defend their country, sacrificing all they had, including their lives.

Of those that are remembered on ANZAC day, more than 2000 of them will be those courageous men who lost their lives on the Bloody Track.

Australians have been involved in numerous conflicts from as far back as the Boer war but none of them was closer to Australian soil, and more threatening to Australian security than the campaign on the Kokoda Track*.

Jeff Kennett, the former Victorian Premier noted this fact in his recent article in the Herald Sun when he pointed out the Kokoda Track as a major Australian shrine. He went on to say that “the real wonderment of PNG still remains the Kokoda Track.”

Following in that call, I say that the Kokoda Track should also be seen as a major PNG shrine as well and must not only be taken as a tourist destination.

Historians may prove me wrong but it can be argued that this 6-month long campaign also saw a lot more Papua New Guineans participate actively in the Second World War than in any other battle. They became porters, stretcher bearers, nurses and scouts.

Hence, the legend of the famous Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels was born.

ENDURANCE: Me and Kokoda Track

For a Papua New Guinean born post-independence, the contribution of these great men bore little to no significance to me and simply got lost in the pages of my high school history text book.

Perhaps we can argue that PNG’s Independence on a golden platter may have had a bearing on this apparent disregard for the historically significant. Perhaps this may have also stemmed from the fact that I hail from the heart of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea – a location left relatively untouched by this war.

However this view or rather lack thereof, was soon to get a good dose of reality check as I came face to face with history.

In late May of 2010 I had the fortunate opportunity to check off one of the destinations in my bucket list when I took on the Kokoda Track.

The tales that you may have heard about this challenging track is nothing compared to the real thing. The entire 96km of this gruelling track alone will demand nothing but the best out of any person who dares to take up this challenge.

From ankle-deep mud to slippery climbs that seemed to never end only to find descents on the other side that will turn the knees of any strong man to rubber. From leech infested mud plains to the murky Brown River and on to the raging torrents of the Iora Creek, the Kokoda Track will put the human spirit to the test.

The arduous nature of this track alone has been known to make legends out of ordinary men like you and I. For it was there that I came to meet a man that displayed the true meaning of sacrifice by his deeds alone.

SACRIFICE:  Private Bruce Kingsbury VC and Kokoda Track

Private Bruce Kingsbury VC - a Malvern boy

I was on my way to seeing the final leg of this journey. Upon entering Isurava battlefield I came across the legend of Private Bruce Kingsbury.

He was, and remains the only recipient of the Victorian Cross in Papua New Guinea.

The Victorian Cross (VC) is the highest decoration of the Commonwealth given with honour to anyone who performs an act of valour above and beyond his or her call of duty.

A farmer and a real estate agent by profession, Private Kingsbury valiantly fought and gave up his life in order to save the lives of his mates and his commanding officers. Because of his actions alone many were able to live and fight another day (click on the picture to read the full story) and even to live on, as that day got etched down into the history books and into their minds.

Because of this selfless act, the following was written of him by W.B. Russell:

“Whenever men speak of courage,
wherever men speak of sacrifice,
he will be remembered,
his name ever an inspiration and a challenge.”

COURAGE: The essence of the Kokoda Track

Starting from Ower’s Corner all the way to Kokoda Station, it was hard not to notice the plaques along the length of the track. They help to point out the historical significance of the locations or the actors in it in relation to the Kokoda campaign. For those unfamiliar with the details of this campaign, these plaques and markers help to give a fair idea what eventuated back in those trying times.

Skeletal remains of weapons and helmets along with remnants of foxholes and craters made by mortar rounds lay eerily silent next to each other;
metamorphosed by weather and time into vague resemblances of their former self.
Mute witness of those terrifying times, all telling grim tales of desperation and bloody destruction. But they tell a much louder tale of the human spirit and courage in the face of uncertainty and imminent doom.

With each passing day on the Track, it was hard not to see what these valiant warriors had to endure in order to successfully fight off a larger, better trained onslaught of Japanese forces. Brigade Hill is one such location where such fierce fighting ensued.

After leaving Brigade Hill, I made my way round the western side of that hill towards Efogi. For anyone who has been there, they will know that there are several similar looking bends there. One of those bends hangs precariously close to the edge of a rocky ledge. It is a narrow pass between two jagged edged rocks pointing inwards with just enough space to allow the passage of ONLY ONE person at a time. A few centimetres of misstep left and a gaping yawn of a chasm waits to receive the unfortunate stray.

This narrow little pass brought me to a halt and to a moment of quiet contemplation. You have to give credit to the tenacity of the Australians with all those weights on their backs with gun in hands, plodding through the muddy slopes and bogs.

However, this time I was more in awe of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

I have tried over and over to picture in my mind how four Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels would negotiate such a dangerously tricky one-lane path with a young wounded — perhaps even unconscious,  Australian in a stretcher. Carrying anything more than 10 kilograms along the length of the track is no easy feat. I was lost in logic while trying to figure out this equation, but I was dead certain of one thing.

I beamed with humble pride and admiration at the accomplishments of these selfless men – Papua New Guineans, warriors in their own right who valiantly stood alongside the Australians in their capacity as human camels, ambulances, scouts and all round saviours.

Then the words of Bert Beros rang with crystalline clarity as I caught a glimpse of what he saw when he himself as a wounded soldier penned that beautiful ode to my forefathers, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

I was never a PROUDER Papua New Guinean than at that very moment. Although I am no Koiari nor a Kaiva, I was proud then, as I am now, to say that as a Papua New Guinean, I claim those brave Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels to be my forefathers.

If you are a Papua New Guinean, consider the Kokoda Track as your pilgrimage. What it takes out of your body it will put into your heart and soul!

That is the essence of the bloody Track.

~ero~

Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels

Many a mother in Australia when the busy day is done

Sends a prayer to the Almighty for the keeping of her son

Asking that an angel guide him and bring him safely back

Now we see those prayers are answered on the Owen Stanley Track.

For they haven’t any halos only holes slashed in their ears

And their faces worked by tattoos with scratch pins in their hair

Bringing back the badly wounded just as steady as a horse

Using leaves to keep the rain off and as gentle as a nurse

Slow and careful in the bad places on the awful mountain track

They look upon their faces would make you think Christ was black

Not a move to hurt the wounded as they treat him like a saint

It’s a picture worth recording that an artist’s yet to paint

Many a lad will see his mother and husbands see their wives

Just because the fuzzy wuzzy carried them to save their lives

From mortar bombs and machine gun fire or chance surprise attacks

To the safety and the care of doctors at the bottom of the track

May the mothers of Australia when they offer up a prayer

Mention those impromptu angels with their fuzzy wuzzy hair.

- Bert Beros

***

Special delivery for ANZAC day from Afore, deep in the heartlands of the Managalas Plateau in the Ijivitari District of Oro.

Awara!

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*Technically, the closest attack on Australian soil took place when the Japanese struck Sydney and Darwin with mini-submarines and air attacks respectively. These however cannot be classified as ‘campaigns’.

** Koiari – the biggest tribe in the Central Province, they live from the coast all the way up to the inland which includes Sogeri and land on which the Kokoda Track runs through and the surrounding area.

**Kaiva – this is the general reference given to the Oro side of the Kokoda Track all the way down towards Popondetta.

**Awara – a common greeting used by the Oro people to generally mean, “Its all right/Its all good.”

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It is now with sadness that I have to report to you that our friends from Hope Worldwide (PNG) had their office at 3-Mile broken into by criminal elements on Sunday, 13 March 2011. To hear a story like this is heart breaking.

In addition to that, Hope Worldwide’s 9-Mile clinic staffs were attacked the previous week. Although unrelated, it leaves us wondering what cruel reward it is for all the help that Hope Worldwide provides to the needy in health and education.

This is truly outrageous. How can we continue to bite the hand that feeds us? I am praying that the culprits are apprehended and are punished accordingly – even better if castrated!

Before I go on and lose my cool, go read up on this story as reported by Malum Nalu of The National newspaper.

The gentleman from Hope Worldwide's warehouse who helped load up the Hope Trek books

I would dare to safely guess that an even lesser percentage of us do read. An additional statistic shows that it is more likely that university and college graduates often never (!) get to read a book again after leaving school thinking that they know everything that they need to know. So where does this leave us?

Now Hope Trek as you know, is fundamentally about promoting books to children and young adults, with the aim to cultivate a reading culture in PNG, focusing first on schools in rural to remote areas.

Piksa piing nii

But this does not mean that this idea has to be confined to the space within the walls of the classroom nor the library. My one desire is to ultimately see this reading culture spread out like an infection to the masses out there who can take the time to pause for a breath to pick up a book to read.

The human mind, being a vital organ of this living organism – you and me – needs to have new information and ideas put into it to continue to develop and grow or it will sink into a state of lethargy and become stagnant. As someone once said, reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

We cannot deny the fact that books are a repository of untold wealth in knowledge and adventure. Books provide the means by which one can get to broaden their horizons as far as they can allow their minds’ eyes to see. Books are portals into worlds beyond our five senses; into the fourth dimension, transcending cultural barriers, taboos, gender divides and even beyond the unknown and into forbidden realms. Books take us into the maze of great minds and into the corridors of time as only an H.G. Wells contraption could achieve.

So to spur this idea on, I take this opportunity to invite you to come read a book with me. Let us say one each week or at least 2 each month. Even one book every month would be just as good. So at year’s end, we are talking 20 to 40 books at the most. Mind you, this is not a strict regime. It is only a suggestion.

So while reading, why not share ideas and information on what you are reading about.

Here I further invite you to write a book review and post it onto our Facebook page. And if you are not on FB, then just email them to me and I can post it there. The outstanding ones will get a spot to feature as a post on this blog each month. I don’t care if it is a 500 word essay or a 5 word sentence. I just want you to read and just tell me about it.

So come pick up a book and let us get reading today.

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PNG art

There has been a noteworthy development in the PNG Literature scene that I would like to make a mention of here and that is the Crocodile Prize. This BRILLIANT literary competition was initiated by PNG Attitude and the Post Courier to promote PNG writers and their work.

Named after the first published novel by a PNG writer (Sir V. Serei Eri), this competition is open to all Papua New Guinea citizens within the three categories of short story, poetry, and journalism. According to the organisers there has been a steady stream of entrants since its launch last September.

If you have time, I urge you to pay a visit to the contributors’ page at Keith Jackson’s PNG Attitude. The qualities of entries from our local writers are quite astounding and you will be impressed! Unlike works from overseas, the collective body of work from these Papua New Guinean writers will take you through the sights and sounds of places and settings that you are more familiar with.

One notable entrant in this competition is Jeffrey Febi. He’s been my friend since Uni but I had no idea he could write so eloquently in the way he does with his collection of short stories and poems. Russell Soaba of the Soaba’s Storyboard fame has a more in-depth take on this particular writer in his post, ‘Our Prolific Jeffrey Febi’.

But it does not stop there. We have a poet in Icarus with his political sketches that reflect the all too familiar stories we hear so often. Tanya Zeriga-Alone takes you through a stormy night to see the world through the eyes of an old man as he takes his last breath on his death bed. Meanwhile from across the Bismarck Sea, Carolus Ketsimur takes us back in time to paint us a picture of the day when the blackbirders came to the village. Then theres Bernard Sinai, David Kitchnoge, Eva Kuson, Lapieh Landu and more.

I could go on but you get the picture. I suggest you go there to get a full dose of what I am referring to.

For you aspiring writers do take a minute to go there and download the entry forms and start entering.

Write, write, write and read, read, read!

Anyway, in the manner of updates, while I was (seemingly) ‘out in the cold’ much has been happening.

First up, I got word from the headmaster of our first school that they have included library studies in all their class schedules. This in itself is a step in the right direction and I was thrilled to receive that update.

I have also had a word with the headmaster from Kuorua Primary School when I went there last November. Kuoruo is located high up in the Managalas Plateau of Afore sub-district in the Oro Province. It takes about 4 to 5 hours by a rugged road to get there from Popondetta. I will be going there again in April of this year so I hope to further finalise arrangements on the possibility of engaging this school and others nearby to participate in the next Hope Trek run.

I am now working on finalising something more concrete and hope to announce it soon here. Stay tuned.

“An education is about more than getting into a good college or getting a good job when you graduate. It’s about giving each and every one of us the chance to fulfill our promise—to be the best version of ourselves we can be.”
Barack Obama

A flier for you to download and pass on. You are all invited and encouraged to come along.

You can read more about Patriots PNG, Inc.  here or here .

How embarrassing!

Its 3pm in the afternoon and while browsing through today’s paper, I happened upon Steven’s Window, a weekly column in the Weekender edition of The National Newspaper that I regularly follow. Its then I realize that this week was the National Book Week.  Notice the usage of the past tense as I just can not get myself to refer to it in the present tense. Perhaps out of the guilt tugging inside of me for being this forgetful. The first week of August every year usually is the national book week.

Given what HT stands for, this is just unacceptable to not mention “books” on the occasion of  the National Book Week. Perhaps this post may redeem me from this guilt. So here I shall pen this down in RED to remember this week next year.

Anyway, I guess it would have been appropriate to do up a book review or a bio-focus on an author perhaps.

But I certainly would NOT have written about the Governor General, Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane because my perception of him has somewhat changed in light of  developments within the political arena of Papua New Guinea of recent times. I do not discount the fact that he has accomplished a lot by contributing to PNG Literature with 42 books, endless good deeds and sage words. What have I, a simple blogger to show but a measly 446 hits (on last count) in my attempt to join in the stampede of mad rush for information.

But I stand by my word.

Stand by your gun and Walk the Talk or Pack up and hit the road(, Jack!). Practice what you preach or else save your lip service and watch me put my money where my mouth is

If you want to read more about Matane and his endless work in promoting the book culture, You can find it here at Steven’s Window.

Seems I still have a long way to go in redeeming myself.

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Let us digress from the usual HT banter and check out PNG art making headlines. Well perhaps not too much of a digression because in essence, Hope Trek is driven by the fire of PATRIOTISM much like what this post does.

It is a compelling review about a spectacularly performance by our very own Dr Michael Mel back in September 2009 in London as part of the “Hailans to Ailans” international exhibition. It portrays a cross sectional view of contemporary PNG culture and life through art. PNG definitely needs more of this now more than ever.

You should definitely have a read through this post at IslandMeri’s blog.

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