Kokoda commemoration (NSW)

The 3rd of November is commemorated by World War Two veterans as well as by past and present servicemen in New South Wales, for the men who fought in the Kokoda campaign.

In 1942 Australian troops re-took Kokoda from the Japanese on the 2nd of November; then, on the following day, the 3rd, they gathered together on parade and raised the Australian flag as sign of patriotism and of victory.

It is this day that is commemorated by the Returned Servicemen’s League of NSW in honour of those who fought and died on our behalf in the jungles of New Guinea.

If the Japanese were not stopped on the Kokoda Track, then they would have continued on and established a base of operations in southern New Guinea from where they could have launched attacks upon the Australian mainland, killing unknown numbers of Australians.

Veterans in Victoria, the 39th Australian Infantry Battalion Association in particular, commemorate Kokoda Day on 8th August. However, on whichever day people commemorate the men of Kokoda, the important thing is that we Australians remember the sacrifice of our fighting men and pay homage to their memory.

Australia owes a debt of gratitude to those men who turned back the tide of the Japanese advance. On this day we remember them.



References:
Commemoration calendar”, NSW RSL [lists Kokoda Day as 3 November]
Kokoda Day declared on anniversary”, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 November 2010
Proposal for 3rd November to be officially proclaimed as ‘Kokoda Day’”, Charlie Lynn MLC [NSW], 7 April 2009
Charlie J Lynn. “Kokoda Day Commemoration Service”, Ezine Articles, 5 November 2010
Charlie J Lynn. “Why Kokoda Day?”, Ezine Articles, 5 November 2010

RSL sites across Australia:
National RSL website
ACT RSL
NSW RSL
NT Darwin RSL
NT Darwin North RSL
Qld. RSL
SA RSL (admin. For SA and NT)
Tas. RSL
Vic. RSL
WA RSL

Note: The NSW branch is the only RSL state branch to list Kokoda Day on their website (3 November). The RSL of Victoria supports the activities of their branches, including the 39th Battalion Association which commemorates Kokoda Day (8 August) at the Shrine of Remembrance. None of the other RSL state branches contacted have official commemorations of the day. The RSL of South Australia commemorates the 8th of August as “Amiens Day” (when all four South Australian Infantry Battalions fought in the same battle at Amiens, France).

Comments

  1. I knew a lot of these men and I don't think I meet one that was comfortable with the word multiculturalism. They went to war for a very different country back then.

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