The Kokoda Story: Efogi to Myola to Templeton's Crossing to Eora Creek

On Thursday the 3rd of April we had a meeting night where we went through some final things before our trip as well as some of the history of Kokoda. All the students were put into groups of three or four and we each had a part of the track to research and then report back to the whole group. My group had to research Efogi to Myola to Templeton's Crossing to Eora Creek while making reference to Captain Sam Templeton. We had to present our findings in an interesting way and it needed to show the soldier's experiences. We wrote a story for ours and this is it. Enjoy.

As the 39^th Battalion left the small village of Efogi, the sun beat hard on their already tired bodies. On the other side of the valley the battalion could see Kagi, the village they knew would take yet another long hike to get to. As the soldiers reached the bottom of the valley they had to cross an infamous river by a narrow log. They had heard stories of how high the water could rise after a storm but fate seemed to be shining down on them as the river was just its usual roaring self.

One stoic soldier, who had become known as “uncle Sam”, worked twice as hard as the rest as he went up and down the line of beaten soldiers and even carried tired soldiers’ rifles. At some point, he was even seen to be carrying four rifles. The hardships Captain Sam Templeton now faced was a far-cry from his carpenter days back in his homeland; Ireland. It was also so different from his days on the H.M.S. Research during World War One with the British Navy. Templeton was a man respected by all who met him and all those under his command. While many of the other “thirty-nine liars” (those who lied about their age to be under the 39 age limit) had been unable to withstand the harsh tropics of Papua New Guinea, Sam had stayed and then earned the respect and admiration of his soldiers.

The battalion continued forward throughout the harsh conditions of day with a shaky promise of a meal at the end of it. Still, it was a goal and in these harsh conditions; a goal can see you through. The soldiers eventually reached the village of Myola, situated on a dry lake bed, which was been used as a forward supply depot and medical post. The soldiers passed a few of the patients been carried back to Port Moresby from here on their way up. There were talks, and some attempts, at cutting a landing strip for planes to evacuate the casualties but it was apparent that this was not to occur for a while yet.

It was another hard slog weighted down by up to 27 kilograms or more of equipment and packs to get to Templeton’s crossing. It involved climbing to the top of Mount Bellamy (at an altitude of 2190m) and then down the other side to reach Templeton’s crossing which at the time the 39^th Battalion first crossed it was just the Eora creek crossing. It was later named Templeton’s crossing in honour of Captain Sam Templeton and in remembrance of him.

It was on the 26^th of July 1942, near Oivi, that Captain Sam Templeton went missing, presumed dead and his body has never been found. Several soldiers heard the shots as their beloved Captain went back to retrieve the 16^th Battalion as back-up for their hold of Oivi and it was this that caused many to believe he was dead. It was later discovered through Japanese records that he had, in fact, been taking as a prisoner. One of his final acts saved many lives and assisted Australia greatly in achieving their victory over the Japanese. This act was making the Japanese believe that the Australian forces were ten times greater than they actually were. This gave pause to the Japanese and caused them to re-evaluate the situation; providing Australians valuable time. There is however, no doubt that, sadly, Captain Sam Templeton did not survive captivity. His folder now officially marked with ‘Believed Deceased on or after the 27^th of July 1942’ and his wife and four kids left with a hole in their hearts and home. His final acts of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice saved many lives and now, the portion of the track where Eora Creek crosses over the Kokoda trail is forever known as Templeton’s crossing.

However, the journey for the soldiers did not finish at Templeton’s crossing as they persevered over many more mountains and steep inclines to reach Eora Creek Village. There is no doubt that the Kokoda trail was tough for all and especially for those who never returned home. The values of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice which these soldiers embodied every day of the track is forever cemented in the history of the Kokoda trail and their sacrifice does not got missed. Without their continual acts of bravery, Australia would not be what it is today. Captain Sam Templeton, especially, is an Australian hero who will always be remembered. Lest we forget.

Just a reminder that this is a scheduled post and that I am away in Kokoda right now. See you tomorrow.

Weird News Tuesday: What?

So we are back again to this day, Tuesday. I know you guys were expecting a post yesterday and, believe you me, so was I. However, scheduling again messed me up so instead I am doing another Weird News Tuesday post. I really do not know what is going on with my Random Thought Friday posts because each week, for whatever reasons, my Fridays get busy (or I forget) but you can always rely on the Weird News Tuesday: Keeping you up to date with the news that matters. Today I will be using the news site: The Daily Telegraph (Australian). We begin with the infamous Lara Bingle with a story I have seen on every news site I have visited tonight. Apparently, the weekly magazine Famous published a photo of her where they allegedly photo shopped more "Cellulite" onto her thighs. Yes, you read that right. They added more "cellulite", not fat, "cellulite". What do they stand to gain by saying cellulite instead of fat? It saves ink (and a few milliseconds). Also, in major news (according to every news site I have been on), the death of Brian Griffin from Family Guy has left fans all over the world reeling. Apparently this is news. Do not get me wrong though, I love Family Guy so I am dedicating this post to Brian Griffin (1999-2013). May he rest in animated peace.

Source: www.unrealfacts.com

In other 'news', a woman (Lucy Cavendish) gives an insight into what it is like living as a 'white' witch. I mean 'white' as in good, not talking about skin colour here. Her book 'Spellbound' gives an insight into how her spells work and how to incorporate witchcraft into everyday life. A man's life was saved after his old boss accidentally butt dialed him. The boss was actually plotting how to kill this man and if he had not have butt dialed him. First, why was that guy's number the one that pops up first. Was his name "Aardvark" or was his number "1111111" or "2148701273"? Seriously, how does that even happen. I have heard of drunk-dialing someone but this is reaching all new heights. A London woman has hatched an 'Ingenious"  plan to get a date with Ryan Gosling or someone similar. Basically she puts up "Lost" posters all around the place with Ryan Gosling's photo on it with her number underneath. Talk about new ways of picking up people. Apparently now there is a legitimate occupation where you go around to different toilets all around the world and use them to find the best toilet in the world. So that is a thing now. Also, an unlucky burglar got stuck in the bathroom window of a house he was trying to break into. When the victim came home the burglar actually had to ask him to call the police. If it were me, I would have waited an hour or so to let him sweat it out (Payback is a bitch and bitch is my middle name). Kids these days bring all sorts of things to show-and-tell. On the list you have toys, books, magazines, parents' "Vibrating Rocket Ship", teddy bears among other things. I could make a really bad pun about rocket ships and Uranus but I will not, I am above that (for now). A group (I do not know which one [there are so many out there these days]) has banned the consumption of soy because they believe it can turn you gay. Yeah, of all the ridiculous theories I have heard that has got to be up there as one of the most ridiculous. The worst part is that someone obviously believes this. Finally, family's had to rush from their homes in Brazil after a fire at a sugar warehouse released a flood of caramel that threatened the surrounding houses. That would have been quite the sticky situation.

The news just keeps getting weirder and weirder. See you tomorrow!

Walking Sandy

So, as I may have mentioned, Sandy is a little bit of a quirky dog. So much in fact he is entertaining in a sort of slap-stick comedy way. Even just walking Sandy he does some funny stuff. Even now when he is about to turn four in November he still does some pretty stupid stuff. I can still catch him from time to time walking straight ahead and then looking sideways and swerving into something. Sandy really has some very bad balance and so it amazes me sometimes how he manages to face diagonally while walking straight ahead. Put simply, Sandy is a marvel. Well, an entertaining marvel.

Image Source: 

http://hairofthedogblog.com/2012/06/press-releases-free-advertising-tips-for-getting-published/

You would not believe how many times Sandy has either walked into letter boxes, fences or even small bushes. Sandy just does not look where he is going and gets distracted very easily. I used to hope that he would grow out of it but I have lost such hope. Even today I was walking him and he got distracted by a bush and kept walking forward while staring at it and not looking where he was going. He ended up barking at the letter box he walked into and then hiding behind me for the next few metres. This is why Sandy would be such a horrible driver since he gets distracted too easily and would be in the middle lane and suddenly see something interesting and swerve towards it without looking. Also, he is a bit too small to actually use the pedals and see over the steering wheel. Still, Sandy driving would be entertaining but also very dangerous. It was pretty entertaining. Sandy is also a bit of an idiot in that he gets easily frightened of cats and small dogs but acts all tough (while hiding behind whoever is walking him) whenever a large dog walks past which is incredibly annoying as he winds himself around your legs and has made me trip a number of times. Walking Sandy around Christmas time is also annoying (and very embarrassing) since Sandy tends to bark at some of the Christmas decorations and I swear he thinks they are real. Especially the decorations that move, they really scare him. The same goes for statues. One minute we are walking calmly and then, out of nowhere, Sandy starts growling at a statue or decoration. All the while he is hiding behind me though which means sometimes I do not notice quick enough and he trips me over. So, as you can tell, walking Sandy is quite the experience and each time he does something that surprises me and catches me off guard. You never quite know what to expect when you walk Sandy.

If Sandy ever learns to drive be sure to keep a long distance between you and his car, see you tomorrow!

Movies

Movies are magical creations and can transport us to different worlds. Movies can make us feel good, or they can make us feel bad. Sometimes movies can scare us and other times make us laugh. The good thing about movies is that they come in many different lengths and genres meaning they could suit anybody. You have documentaries, comedies, sci-fi films, chick flicks (sorry for sounding so colloquial), Romances or even a western. Of course, there are also many other genres out there (like Anime) but if I listed them all we would be here for days. Personally I enjoy movies as they allow me to escape somewhere I have never been before, even if just for an hour or two. Of course, not all movies are good and some of them make us wish we could have our time back. A good example of a movie like this was the movie called "The Tree of Life" which I think starred Brad Pitt. Some of the critics were saying how great the movie was and how deep and entertaining it was and while I was watching I actually fell asleep. It was utter crap in my opinion but still, some people like that kind of movie which is why I say they appeal to everybody, although people will certainly not always like the same thing.

Image Source: http://publicimageafrica.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/out-and-about-at-movies.html

Sometimes movies are made based on books, 'true' events, manga or some other type of text. Sometimes the film adaptation is a whole lot better than the original (not that I can think of any off the top of my head), some of them were on the same par as the original (like Beautiful Creatures) and some of them are just plain horrible. Sometimes film-makers try to stretch out an already over-stretched film franchise and it is just one of those things you go to see knowing you won't enjoy it but you still want to go. You would not believe how many times that has happened to me, although (admittedly) sometimes I do enjoy myself and pretend not to so I don't embarrass myself. Basically, I like films when they are good and to my liking. Sometimes film franchises are really successful (like James Bond or Harry Potter) and you can not wait to see the next one. Those are the sort of movies I like as they have a continuation rather than just one movie and that is it. I like to find out what happens after the resolution. It's probably the reason why I like vlogs on YouTube; I like to see how people's lives turn out but not in a stalker-ish fashion (that's right, over 100 posts and I'm still making up words). Movies, for me, are a wonderful invention and I wonder what our World would be like without them.

Be sure to be mindful of other cinema-goers, see you tomorrow!