By Parker McKenzie
On the 80th anniversary of the Japanese retreat from Kokoda Village, a commemorative service for those who fought and gave their lives in defence of Australia will be held at the One Tree Hill Picnic Grounds in Tremont, among the cairns and informational panels that form the Walk of Heroes.
Life member and former committee member of the 39th Battalion Association Alfred Mallia said the annual service will start at 1pm on Monday 8 August with students from Belgrave South Primary School singing the national anthem.
“The 39th battalion were 17, 18 and 19-year-old kids who couldn’t go and fight for England because they were underage, they needed their parents’ permission to join the Australian Defence Forces back in those days,” he said.
“New Guinea was considered Australian soil at the time, because we were governing Papua New Guinea, meaning the militia units here in Melbourne, New South Wales and South Australia could actually go over to New Guinea to defend our shores.”
The four stone cairns explaining events throughout the 39th Battalion’s battles, the Kokoda Campaign and the efforts of local Papuan “Fuzzy Wuzzies” who aided the Australians were unveiled in December 2014, with informational panels detailing individuals soldiers being installed in February 2018 to complete the Walk of Honour. Mr Mallia helped build them with assistance from members of the local public.
He said the 39th Battalion was the first unit to face the Japanese as they made their way towards Kokoda, fighting them from July 21 to August 27 in a gruelling campaign through the jungles of modern-day Papa New Guinea.
“There aren’t many people that know that that is the only time Australia was at war to defend its own shores,” he said.
“When the Japanese decided to retreat from the Village of Kokoda, it was the first time in the Second World War that they did so. It was 8 August when the 39th retook the village, so that’s why we celebrate it.”
Senior Sergeant James Cowey, Private Terry Edwards from Belgrave and Private Robert Jones from Upwey were three locals who fought with the 39th Battalion during the Kokoda Campaign, with the unit suffering heavy casualties. The unit only existed for 20 months from 1941 to 1943 and was originally passively garrisoned in Papua while officered by World War One veterans.
Mr Mallia said many are shocked at the ages of those who served in the 39th.
“It heavily relied on 16, 17, 18 and 19-year-olds to defend this country,” he said.
“The story really needs to be told and the more we can get that message out, the better.”
The 39th Batallion was removed from service on 3 July 1943 and ceased to exist as a unit, receiving little recognition until decades later.
Further memorials to the Kokoda campaigns are being planned around Victoria and an annual football game in Warrnambool will be played on the Saturday preceding the commemorative service.
You can learn more about the 39th Battalion at 39battalion.com
