I support Anzac Day. National days of remembrance are vital to sustaining and nourishing a nation’s soul, and of imbuing the young with the same respect of the country as their parents and grandparents have. Anzac Day does not glorify war; it honours the memories of young men and women who served in times of war. I never served in any armed force but my father, father-in-law and uncle did, and I admired them for their service and respect our returned soldiers. I admit, this is a far cry from how I felt during the Vietnam War, but even then, I did not object to the soldiers themselves but to the government of the United States for its conduct in the war.
I understand that the Anzac spirit was created at Gallipoli. Gallipoli has assumed the place in our collective memory as the defining moment when Australia ‘came of age’. It was a battlefield in a foreign country, halfway around the world, on unforgiving terrain. We were sent there at the behest of ‘the mother country’ and did ourselves proud. The exploits of the Anzacs are worthy of our utmost respect and honour.
However, I am concerned that Anzac Day has become de facto ‘Gallipoli Day’. Gallipoli has overshadowed another vital period of another war in which Australian soldiers not only fared better than they did at Gallipoli, but actually were instrumental in saving Australia, or at least the northern stretches of it. They overcame incredible adversity on our home soil, on unforgiving terrain, facing better equipped and trained enemy soldiers, no less than the Anzacs encountered at Gallipoli.
I am referring to World War Two and the battles along the Kokoda Track, and on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, which was then officially Australian territory, in 1942. The Japanese were intent on crossing overland to Port Moresby and by so doing, cutting off Australia from America, and thereby severely limiting America’s ability to fight in the Pacific theatre. They were met by a group of Australia militia in the village of Kokoda, under equipped and under trained to resist for long the Japanese commandos, who were highly experienced in jungle warfare.The Aussies gradually retreated along the track, inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese along the way and suffering heavy losses themselves.
Finally, experienced Australian reinforcements arrived from the mid-east, ordered by Prime Minister Curtin against the objection of Churchill and, helped by the Japanese’ over stretched supply lines, starvation and disease that afflicted them (as it had the Australians) the Japanese were beaten back along the track and retreated from New Guinea.
Kokoda may not be where Australia came of age, but it is where Australian soldiers literally saved Australia. Gallipoli was a battleground in a foreign country; Kokoda was officially part of Australia. The debate continues as to whether Japan was intent on invading mainland Australia, but even so, taking Australian New Guinea would have been disastrous for Australia, America and the rest of the Pacific. This is in no way to diminish Gallipoli, but to put into context the significance of Kokoda.
Next year will be the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli. Undoubtedly, and appropriately, there will be an enormous amount of coverage in the media. Many people already are well versed in the exploits of the Diggers, and the increasing numbers of young people who journey to Gallipoli to commemorate the day are indicative of the value the younger generation places on Anzac Day. This is great!
But my discussions with people indicate that many more do not know just how important Kokoda was. If you are interested, read KOKODA by Paul Ham for a gripping and thorough account of the fighting from both perspectives. Watch ‘Kokoda – Front Line’, Australian journalist Damien Parer’s 1943 award winning film. Visit the War Memorial in Canberra and see the dedicated Kokoda section. Walk the Thousand Steps in Ferntree Gully in the Dandenongs, and read the moving displays dedicated to the memory of the men who fought and died on Kokoda.
On Anzac Day, of course remember Gallipoli, but let us not ignore the important events on the Kokoda Track and elsewhere in New Guinea, then our home soil. Make Anzac Day as memorable as it should rightly be.
Lest we forget.
What is your ANZAC story? Does your family have one? Tell us in the comments below…