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.

Pandora's Box

There are many stories about the infamous Pandora's Box and what it holds. However, despite this infamous object's fame, very few people know much about Pandora's Box and its origins. Look no further for this post will aim to inspire you and inform you about the mystical mystery (yeah, I went there) of Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is an artifact in Greek Mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation in Hesiod's Works and Days which I think is some Greek mythology story. The "box" is actually a large jar which was given to Pandora and it contained all the evils of the world. You can see how such an object would appeal to such a wide variety of people and how it can be a source of great story telling. A popular phrase (that I have never heard of) which is "to open Pandora's box" means to do a little innocent action that has far-reaching and severe consequences. I do not know why that is important but it is, so deal with it.

Source: http://www.insanelymac.com/_/osx86/news-pandoras-box-beta2-is-out-r1000

In Greek mythology, Pandora was said to be the first woman on Earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and so he did. Athena then clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty and Hermes gave Pandora speech. In retaliation of Prometheus stealing fire from heaven, Zeus gave Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, Pandora. In doing so he also gave Pandora a jar with strict instructions not to open it under any circumstances. Of course, due to her curiosity, Pandora opened the jar and all evil contained within escaped and spread over the Earth. Before Pandora had the chance to shut the jar, all of the evil had already escaped leaving only the one thing that lay at the bottom: the Spirit of Hope named Elpis. Then even Hope escaped into the World. So after this the world was full of every kind of evil, but it was also full of Hope. Pandora's Box has become something of a modern obsession for story-tellers due to its rich history and the possibilities it holds. Some people see the evil as truth and so that by opening the box an unimaginable number of truths, some good and some bad, would be let free into the world. Others see Pandora's Box as something which contains all the secrets of our world and existence and once found and opened our new lives can begin. The point of Pandora's box, however, is not the story. Rather, Pandora's Box is merely a vessel in which the ancient Greeks believed that evil and hope entered the world. It is a nice story.

I do not know how I got onto this topic, see you tomorrow!

Fun with Friends

I know this seems like a post about a children's story but it is not, it is very real. It stares you straight in the face when you dare not look. It is the voice in the edge of your mind. That vision out of the corner of your eye. Basically, it is the truth and nothing but the truth (plus a little bit of imagination). Sometimes people go through days and wish it to end every second. However, sometimes we have those days where time flies and we just want it to stop and slow down so we can enjoy it. Even the views of different people can change how they experience time and how this wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey world works (points for whoever knows where this is from). Friends can make time more enjoyable and without them time can go very slowly.

Source: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/happy_friendship_day-wallpapers.html

Today was one such occasion where I can say that friends made time go faster and was made better than if I was alone. Today I went to the Geelong Show to celebrate a friend's birthday. Because his Father knew the people who owned a lot of the rides we went on a lot of them and paid nothing. It was actually a lot of fun and if I had not being with my friends I would never have had such great friends to keep me company and to talk to about random stuff (random is always fun). If they had not been there the six hours we spent at the show would not have been half as enjoyable and I was not on the rides all the time (in fact, the majority we were just walking around). On the way home, however, we got stuck helping the Father's friend with a truck. This took a lot of time so instead of getting home at 6pm I got home at 8:10pm. I know you are probably thinking that two and a half hours would be boring but you would be wrong as we talked the whole time about a variety of random things. There was never any awkward silences. It was a lot of fun and I know that without them the time would have just dragged on and I would have had nothing to do. So you can see why I see friends as being important and why I know that they make time move at a better pace.

Friends are important so never take them for granted. See you tomorrow!

An Explanation

So you may have realised that the holidays have started and you may also have realised (if you visited this blog since Saturday night that short and not-so-sweet posts have appeared. For this I am very sorry and feel that you deserve an explanation. Sure, it works out for me as well as it counts for today's post but all in all this post is for you guys as you deserve, no... need an answer! Well, actually you do not but anyways, it's late and I do not want to bore you all more than you already are. Sorry guys for the remainder (and introduction) of this post.

Source: http://www.yorubagirldancing.com/2012/03/27/6892/

So I guess our story begins one stormy night in 1997 when a new (and exceptionally bright) light was brought into the world. He would grow up and haunt people's daydreams and change the future forever. He would write a blog which would one day become known as a suppository for all that is procrastination. That boy was me and this is my story. T'was the night before last and all through the house not a creature was silent not even the incredibly sooky dog making up nearly 13% of this blog. It was an eventful night with many a fright throughout the night. It was the next day that I woke up and knew something was wrong for my phone was still sleeping at eight in the morning. My throat was a bugger all day and by night all that was left in life appeared to be sleep. Yet as the dark closed in around our protagonist (I really need to stop changing perspectives mid paragraph) a sudden thought struck him and this thought was of the amazing (and very modest) blog, the Daily Lukey. The next day was very much the same slog with a lot of scooping, moving and shoveling of bark and still, after many soluble tablets, the throat was still an issue. It was late at night and Luke was about to finally asleep after countless minutes (I get lost after two) of tossing and turning when the same thought struck him. His blog left emptied and he thought of making up a story about poor scheduling but felt that a short and sweet post would last better. Thus ends the teary tale of the man without a tail and his incredibly sad dog with one (seriously though, for such an upbeat dog he does sook a lot).

Much sorrow was felt that day and the magical land of Home would never be the same again, see you tomorrow!

The Methods SAC Part 2

So yesterday, the 9th of May (a.k.a. my Birthday) I completed the rest of the Maths Methods SAC which also included the continuation of the Tasmania Jones story and his quest to recover the "Cory Potion". I didn't write about it in yesterday's post because it was my Birthday. The following is the continuation of the Tasmania Jones story as told in the Methods SAC. It has the worst ending which shows why Maths teachers aren't English teachers (well, at least not the ones who wrote this SAC).

Click here if you haven't read Part 1.

We left off with Tasmania Jones on a perilous roller coaster on the path to recover the "Cory Potion". We start Section 2 with Tasmania Jones discovering another perilous roller coaster which starts at ground level and goes on a path described by a cubic equation. Then there are a number of questions relating to the rule and some other questions before Tasmania Jones completes the Roller Coaster and continues on his search for the "Cory Potion".

Having safely crossed this perilous attraction Tasmania Jones comes across some toxic liquid which is made up of a certain percentage of toxic acid. Then you have to work out the total amount of acid in the toxic liquid and then it gives you two solutions (x and y) and the percentage of acid in each. From here you need to work out how much of each solution is in the Total liquid (I'm not saying how) and then that is all for this section. Then Tasmania Jones continues and he finds a giant container on top of a stage above which is suspended the "Cory Potion". Tasmania Jones must somehow save the potion as the container is slowly filling  up with the toxic liquid and then there are a number of questions relating to this and then you must work out how long it will take for the container to fill and how long Jones has left to save the potion.

And now for the ending that would make English teachers everywhere cringe. Once Tasmania successfully receives the potion he rushes back and notices a note attached to the vial containing the potion. WARNING: ENDING MAY MAKE YOU SICK. The note reads: "Congratulations on successfully recovering the fake potion. I look forward to meeting you again someday. The Forces of Evil". And that is the end of Section 2 and the Maths Methods SAC. I know, worst ending ever. I'm so sorry but that is how they ended the SAC. At least it provided a little bit of entertainment.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

The Methods SAC

So today we had a Maths Method SAC on Cubic and Quartic Functions as well as everything we had learnt so far (Linear, Quadratic, Graphs) It is so large that we actually haven't finish it yet. It goes for 4 periods and there are 2 sections. During the first 2 periods you can only work on Section 1 and in the next 2 periods you can work on both section 1 and section 2. So it is a big SAC and I studied a lot for it because I knew there would be a lot of stuff on it that I may be a little rusty on because it has been a while. Even during lunch time today I was studying with my friend (who is also in Methods) for the SAC.

So we were pretty nervous about the SAC and it didn't help that one of our friends said that the teacher had said that it was hard. Anyway, as the SAC was going to take full periods we had to arrive at class before the end of lunch so that we could start as soon as the bell went. So when we do finally start I open the first page and I just try really hard to hold my laughter because the Section 1 of the SAC (and I hope Section 2 is also) is based around the story of "Tasmania Jones and The Temple of Doom" or something along those lines ("Tasmania Jones" was correct but I don't think it was "Temple of Doom"). It made the SAC more entertaining as there were questions based around different parts of his journey.

Well, the story started off with the main character ("Tasmania Jones") on his way to retrieve a stolen cure. His first struggle is at the edge of a cliff and he has to jump from the top of the cliff, over the lava and onto a platform. There were two ways Tasmania knew he could do this and the first rule was given and you had to graph it, the second rule you had to work out based on the points they gave you (y-intercept and turning point) and then graph it also. There were questions related to these two rules and once you completed them Tasmania continued on his journey.

Having successfully passed this obstacle Tasmania now faces a pit of crocodiles. He notices a stalactite growing from the ceiling which conveniently has a hook on the end (as stalactites would) which is conveniently exactly in the middle of the gap. You then had to work out the rule for the semi-circle the path the end of the 5 metre rope made when it swung from one side to the other (with Tasmania on the end casually avoiding the snapping crocodiles). Our hero then continues his journey where he discovers he must go on a dangerous roller coaster (sounds like fun) but he needs the key which is at the end of a room with a motion sensor at the entrance. Conveniently, Tasmania is a very fast runner but on his way back he fatigues and only runs at half his speed. The major question here was the distance from the entrance to the back wall (it gave you how long it took to get there and you worked out his initial speed [before fatigue] in an earlier question) which you had to work out.

Jones then stops and checks his blood-sugar (or chloride or something, it wasn't blood sugar) levels [because "He's a very health conscious person"]) and he has a drink called Gatorfade (the originality of this text is marvelous) which restores these levels. There is a rule provided which gives you the levels of whatever he is checking a number of hours (t) after drinking the Gatorfade. Then there are a few questions relating to this rule and it tells you the target levels of whatever it is in his body and you do some more calculations of how long it takes for his levels to drop below the target range.

Finally, Tasmania Jones reaches the roller coaster after a perilous tumble down a hill before finishing at the roller coaster starting platform 20 kilometres below sea level. Then there are a few questions relating to the cubic rule defining the path of the roller coaster and questions relating to this path. That is all for Section 1 and so far it is the end of the story. On Thursday (which also happens to be my Birthday, yay!) I complete section 2 and that day's blog post will probably be the continuation of this story (if it is done so in the SAC) so look forward to the finale of Tasmania Jones awesome adventures to recover the stolen cure.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!