Education Centre

In 2023, the KTMW Board re-commenced their series of military history-related talks, which are now presented in a series called ‘Beyond the Battlefield’.

Aim

Presentations will have a military history focus, including the PNG/Kokoda campaigns. Many speakers will have published works on their topic, or will have detailed knowledge of the subject matter. As the series title suggests, the presentations will often examine issues, individuals or events beyond the battlefield, but conflict has impacted them nonetheless.

The talks are designed to encourage discussion and debate on military history, which is a field that is constantly re-examining past events to better understand the context in which they occurred.

Format

The talks are held in the Ralph Honner Kokoda Education Centre on Saturday mornings, and are approximately an hour in duration, which includes time for questions.

If you are a Friend of Kokoda (FoK) admission is free, while a small admission charge ($5.00) applies to members of the public.

Please arrive 30 minutes before the talk is due to commence to enjoy light refreshments before the talk.

See here for transport options to the Walkway.

RSVPs/Payment

Those FoK attending should email admin@kokodawalkway.com.au a week before the talk, while others should complete the below payment form and submit before the talk.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback/suggestions (after attending a talk) please contact us.

The 2023 talk series was well received. Thank you to those FoK and others who attended the three talks – we appreciate your support!

2024 Update

The 2024 schedule is:

• 10 February. Dr Tom Lewis OAM: ‘The 1942 midget submarine raid on Sydney’. (55m 23s)
• 13 April. John Tannock:  ‘The installation of a monument to commemorate the Battle of Oivi/Gorari’. (1h 04m)
• 15 June (10.30am). Dr Jan McLeod: ‘War Crime or Legitimate Act of War? The 1942 Japanese bombing of Allied medical establishments at Soputa in Papua’. (1hr 36m)Dr McLeod discussed the bombing of Soputa in November 1942, and examined why Australian authorities decided not to pursue the incident as an international war crime.
• 10 August (10.30am). John Hall: ‘”Forgotten” facts: obscure wartime anecdotes’.(1hr 26m) The Walkway’s Project Officer highlighted a number of unusual and ‘forgotten’ incidents, including the Japanese Fu-Go balloon bombs and the only American female POW of the Germans in WW2.
• 12 October (10.30am). Dr David Stevens: ‘The German U-Boat campaign against Australia, 1944-45‘. (1hr 39m) Few realise that the Germans dispatched U-Boats to Australian (and New Zealand) waters in 1944. Dr Stevens recounted the fantastic voyage of U-862, and its wily commander Heinrich Timm.
• 30 November (10.30am). Dr Seamus Spark: ‘”White man’s war”: Papuan and New Guinean experiences of the Second World War’. Dr Spark will examine the experiences of native Papuans during the war, going beyond the usual story of the supposed willing and compliant Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

The Walkway thanks Big Sky Publishing (publishers of some of our speakers’ titles) for their support. A range of their publications will be prizes on the days!

2023 presentations:

• Dr Jan McLeod: ‘Stout-hearted men’ (1:16mins). Dr McLeod’s talk focussed on the photographs and diary writings of Private Lawrence Nicholas (Nick) Kennedy, and his experiences in Papua with the understrength 2/4 Australian Field Ambulance.
• John Hall (KTMW Project Officer): ‘Game to Give it a Go’: the Italian POW Rural Labour Scheme in Australia 1943-1945. (1:20mins) Faced with a rural labour crisis, the Commonwealth Government decided to use Italian POWs who had been transported to Australia following the capture of massive numbers of Italian forces in North Africa in 1940/41. From mid-1943 until late 1945, farmers in many districts employed former Italian soldiers to help with their labour needs.
• Dr David W. Cameron: ‘The other Isurava – the Battle for Abuari’ (58m 41s) Dr Cameron’s talk focused on the lesser-known, but just as vicious and costly battle at Abuari, east of Isurava in late August 1942.