Teacher Resource
Kokoda Anniversary
Episode 30
31st October 2017
Students will develop a deeper
understanding of Australia’s
involvement in the Kokoda
campaign.
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What did the BTN story explain?
During which war was the Kokoda campaign?
Why were Australian soldiers sent to New Guinea?
New Guinea was a territory of Australia. True or false?
Why were reserve forces sent to New Guinea?
Why were the soldiers poorly prepared for war?
Describe the conditions on the Kokoda track.
What impact did disease and infections have on soldiers?
How did Papuan people help Australian soldiers?
Why does the Kokoda campaign remain an important symbol to
many Australians today?
Class Discussion
After watching the BTN Kokoda Anniversary story, discuss with students what
they know about the Kokoda campaign. Use the following questions to help
guide discussion:
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When did the Kokoda campaign happen?
Who was involved?
What images and words come to mind when you think of the Kokoda
campaign?
Write a personal response to the Kokoda Anniversary story. Leave a
comment on the BTN story page.
Glossary of key terms
Students will develop a glossary of historical terms and concepts that relate
to the Kokoda campaign. Students will add definitions to the glossary as they
come across unfamiliar words throughout the BTN Kokoda Anniversary story.
Students will demonstrate their understanding by writing their own sentences
using historical terms and concepts from the glossary. Below are some key
terms and concepts to get you started:
Reserve forces
Troops
Withdraw
Campaign
Camouflage
Battalion
©ABC 2017
HASS / Inquiry and skills /
Questioning– Year 6
Develop appropriate questions to
guide an inquiry about people,
events, developments, places,
systems and challenges
HASS / Inquiry and skills /
Researching – Year 6
Locate and collect relevant
information and data from primary
sources and secondary sources
Sequence information about
people’s lives, events,
developments and phenomena
using a variety of methods
including timelines
(ACHASSI125)
HASS / Inquiry and skills /
Analysing – Years 6 & 7
Examine primary
sources and secondary sources to
determine their origin and
purpose (ACHASSI126)
Examine primary sources and
secondary sources to determine
their origin, purpose and reliability
History / Historical Skills /
Chronology, terms and
concepts – Year 7
Sequence historical events,
developments and periods
History / Historical Skills /
Analysis and use of sources –
Year 7
Identify the origin and purpose of
primary and secondary sources
Timeline of main events
Students will create a timeline to sequence significant events that led to World War II, significant events
during World War II and Australia’s involvement in World War II.
1939, September
Germany invades Poland.
World War II begins.
3 Sept – Australia enters
World War II.
1942, February
Mainland Australia comes under
attack when Japanese forces
mount two air raids on Darwin.
1945, September
Japan signs surrender
agreement, ending war.
Students will work in small groups to work through the following questions to build on their understanding of
Australia’s involvement in World War II. Students will find and collect images, photographs, illustrations and
video as part of their research.
• When did World War II begin and end?
• What was Australia’s involvement in World War II?
• Why were Australian troops sent to Kokoda?
• When did the Kokoda campaign begin and end?
• What impact did the Kokoda campaign have on Australia and its people at the time?
People
In Papua from July 1942 to January 1943 over 120,000 people from different countries fought, or supported
the fighting troops.
Students will investigate who was involved in the Kokoda campaign and why. Students will use the internet
to learn more about the Kokoda campaign from the perspective of the Australians, Papuans and Japanese,
and use the following table to record their findings.
Australians – 39th
Battalion
Why were you fighting
in New Guinea? What
were your objectives?
How many people
participated in this
campaign?
©ABC 2017
Papuans – Papuan
Infantry Battalion
Japanese
Explain your strategy.
How successful were
your operations in
Kokoda? Did they go
smoothly? What were
some of the challenges.
Describe some of your
experiences.
What was the impact of
this campaign on your
country and people?
Kokoda Research
Students will develop their own question/s for inquiry, collecting and recording information from a wide
variety of sources.
Example – Inquiry question
While a lot of Militia were volunteers, Australian men could be conscripted, or
forced, to join the Militia. What is conscription? Why did Australia have to
conscript men for military service? How do you feel about conscription?
Students will locate, compare, select and use information from a range of primary and secondary sources
and then present the information in an interesting way. Before starting this activity, students will learn more
about the differences between primary and secondary resources, and respond to the following
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What is a primary source? Give an example
Through using primary sources, a document like a diary, painting or a physical object, that was
written or created at a particular time, we can gain an understanding of what might have happened
at a place in time. Example of a primary source – Photographs of Japanese bombing raids on Port
Moresby
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What is a secondary source? Give an example.
Secondary sources are documents written after an event has occurred, providing “second-hand”
accounts of that event, person, or topic. Unlike primary sources, which provide first-hand accounts,
secondary sources offer different perspectives, analysis, and conclusions of those accounts.
Example of a secondary source – The Age, May 20, 1942 49 Planes in Attack
As part of their research, students will need to:
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Use historical terms and concepts in their presentation.
Refer to the source of the information (i.e. bibliography).
Look for facts and opinions that answer their inquiry question/s.
©ABC 2017
Weather conditions on the track
Students will watch the ABC Splash Weather and War video that explains the weather conditions the
soldiers experienced on the Kokoda Track. Students will respond to the following:
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How would you describe the winter of
1942?
How does military historian Jack Ford
describe the weather conditions?
How did the weather give the Japanese
soldiers an advantage?
Give an example of how the weather helped
the Australian soldiers.
Why was it difficult to take supplies along
the Kokoda Track?
Conditions on the track
Students will read the following description of the track by Sir Kingsley Norris, an army medical officer for the
Australian 7th Division. Students will then respond to one or more of the questions below.
"Imagine an area of approximately one hundred miles long. Crumple and fold this into a series of ridges,
each rising higher and higher until seven thousand feet is reached, then declining in ridges to three thousand
feet. Cover this thickly with jungle, short trees and tall trees, tangled with great, entwining savage vines.
Through an oppression of this density, cut a little native track, two or three feet wide, up the ridges, over the
spurs, round gorges and down across swiftly-flowing, happy mountain streams. Where the track clambers up
the mountain sides, cut steps - big steps, little steps, steep steps - or clear the soil from the tree roots."
Read the rest of his description here
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How did you feel reading Sir Kingsley Norris’ description of the track?
How does he describe the vegetation on the track?
What do you understand more clearly about the environment of the Kokoda Track after reading his
description?
Imagine climbing and descending the track carrying a weapon and supplies while fighting a better
trained enemy. Discuss your thoughts with other students.
Visual Literacy – Conditions on the Kokoda Track
Below are photographs depicting conditions on the track during the Kokoda campaign. Students will look at
the images and then respond to the following questions:
• What is happening in the image?
• What does the photo tell you about the conditions on the track?
• How do you think the soldiers might be feeling?
• What question/s would you like to ask the soldiers in the photo?
• Create a caption for each image.
©ABC 2017
Source: The Kokoda Campaign
Source: Australian War Memorial
Source: Kokoda Historical
Source: National Museum Australia
Reflection
Students will reflect on what they have learnt about the battle of Kokoda and Australia’s involvement in the
campaign overall. Students will discuss what they have learnt as a class. What questions were raised in the
discussion? Use the following questions to help guide the discussion:
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Who was involved in the battle of Kokoda?
What were the experiences of the Australian soldiers?
How were Papuans impacted by the Kokoda campaign?
What were the experiences of the Japanese soldiers?
What is the significance of Kokoda today?
Has your thinking about Kokoda changed? If so, in what ways?
©ABC 2017
BTN – Kokoda Track
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2219584.htm
ABC Splash – Weather and war: the Kokoda Trail, 1942
http://splash.abc.net.au/web/splash#!/media/1668011/weather-and-war-kokoda
ABC Splash – Reinforcing the 39th on the Kokoda Trail
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1485206/reinforcing-the-39th-on-the-kokoda-trail
Department of Veteran’s Affairs – The Kokoda Track
http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/history/conflicts/kokoda-track
©ABC 2017