Mapping Kokoda
“Sharp drop”
“Slippery track”
“Rough going”
These understated descriptions of the arduous route from Kokoda to Buna appear on a map of the Kokoda Trail held by the Australian War Memorial, part of the Memorial’s map digitisation project.
Route no. 1, Kokoda–Buna (and Sanananda): from information available 20 Oct. 1942, 14 Infantry Brigade Headquarters, Intelligence Section
Before the Kokoda campaign, accurate maps of the trail were non-existent. In March 1942, a small survey section was established as part of the New Guinea Force to produce maps to assist with operations in the area. According to Memorial historian Dr Karl James, “In these early days there was little the section could achieve, as some of its personnel were not fully trained in surveying techniques and aerial photographs were unavailable”. This rendered many of those early maps ineffective, and led to frequent revisions.
After months of fighting, the Australians started receiving more accurate maps, in part due to a bolstering of the Australian survey team. The quality continued to improve with the arrival of American photographic squadrons. But even then, dense jungle and cloud cover obscured tracks and villages, making for difficult work.
Kumusi River, Papua, c. 1942-12-28. Aerial view of the Kumusi River from the window of a United States Army Air Force Douglas C47. The aircraft was transporting members of the 2/4th Field Ambulance after its four-month campaign along the Kokoda Trail. The flight back to Port Moresby took 35 minutes.
Conditions along the trail were notoriously treacherous. Because of the boggy terrain, steep inclines and dense jungle, there was little use in measuring the trail in distance. Instead, it was commonplace to measure the trail in duration - the hours walked by troops between settlements and supply stops.
One example reads:
Kokoda – Isurava 6hr 45m
Isurava – Alola 35m
Alola – Kagi 12hr 50m
Kagi – Efogi 2 1hr 40m
Efogi 2 – Efogi 1 20m
Efogi 1 – Menari 3hr 00m
Menari – Nauro 3hr 15m
Nauro – Ioribaiwa 5hr 40m
Ioribaiwa – Uberi 4hr 30m
Uberi – Owers Corner 45m
Note – Above times depend on individual fitness & track conditions
Journeys were long and had to be conducted on foot. For those weighed down by heavy gear and poor weather conditions, or slowed by illness and injury, the journey would take longer than predicted. Proper medical treatment for Australian troops was available at Owers’ Corner, at the beginning of the trail. The sick or wounded would have to trek back through dense jungle on foot for medical assistance; some failed to survive this journey.
The sketch map of Efodi Kokoda gives some indication of the difficult conditions – the solid green areas represent “dense jungle forest” traversed by Australian troops and their Papuan allies.
Looking towards Euribaiwa on the Kokoda Track, at the point where the road ends and the descent by foot track begins. Papua, September 1942
Though often inaccurate or rudimentary, maps and charts like these provide a snapshot of the conditions faced by Australians, Papuans and their Japanese adversaries on the track, fighting in what is widely considered to be one of the most arduous encounters in Australian military history.
The Research Centre is digitising a collection of over 1,900 maps for publication on the Australian War Memorial website. Of these, a selection of Kokoda maps have been digitised and are available online here.
Further reading:
“The track”: a historical desktop study of the Kokoda Track
A study written by Dr Karl James, Military History Section, Australian War Memorial, and commissioned by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2009