When Year 11 students Hannah Finn and Eden Thomson found out they’d received Colin Sinclair Scholarships and would be walking the Kokoda Trail, they didn’t know what to expect.
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The St Joseph’s College students knew they were in for a challenge, but no amount of preparation could get them ready for just how brutal the trek would actually be.
“I loved it,” Eden said.
“It was definitely the hardest thing I’ve done, but also the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Hannah and Eden spent nine days trekking through the dense Papua New Guinean wilderness, walking in the footsteps of Australian soldiers who spent five months repelling Japanese forces across the island 84 years earlier.
The teens had several reasons for applying for the scholarship, from honouring sacrifice to familial connections.
Hannah’s great-grandfather is Robert Drysdale, better known as Lone Pine Bob, a veteran of World War II, who planted a tree from Gallipolli’s Lone Pine in Kyabram in 1998.
Eden’s great-grandfather also fought in World War II, but it was his grandfather — a Vietnam War veteran who Eden grew up marching alongside every Anzac Day — who served as his main inspiration.
When things got tough in the sweltering heat and humidity, the Anzac spirit of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice inspired the group to keep going.
“We all leaned on each other,” Eden said.
“Whether it was porters, trackers, or blokes who’ve done it 10 times, it doesn’t get easier.
“But I think the camaraderie and mateship we all had with each other was indescribable.”
Both Eden and Hannah said the friendships they’d made trekking alongside students from all over the country would be lifelong.
“(Our friends) were so vital,” Hannah said.
“Sharing things, leaning on each other, and just experiencing it all together, it made it so much easier, and it felt just a bit more like we could do it.”
Since returning, the duo have quickly realised the perspective the trip has given them, both from hearing stories of the sacrifice soldiers their age made, and from meeting people living in villages along the trail.
“I think about my daily problems that, I think, are absolutely huge, and then to go over there (where) they don’t have any power, any running water, I just feel so silly complaining about the things I complain about,” Hannah said.
“They’re all such happy people and so appreciative of everything, even though, (compared to me), they have next to nothing.”
Eden said that since returning, he was incredibly grateful for the daily luxuries he’d never thought twice about before.
“I definitely have a greater appreciation for the little things, like a shower and clean food,” he said.
“I’m just so thankful every day for living in such a great country because if it were 80 years ago, I would be fighting in that war.”
“It makes you look at your family and your mates, and surround yourself with good people, knowing that if it was back then, they would be the people I’d be leaning on the most.”
Both Eden and Hannah drew inspiration from the soldiers they were honouring, Rochester residents Private Bevan Thomas and Corporal Stan Snow.
“(Bevan Thomas) died at Isurava,” Eden said.
“We had a big ceremony, and I read about how (he) fought and died.
“Actually being in the place where he fought and died was a very emotional experience and then to come off the mountain, back down to Bomana (War Cemetery), it was very touching.
“I was so thankful (for) a guy I’d never met.”
Hannah and Eden have just one message for those thinking of applying for next year’s Colin Sinclair Scholarship.
“I would definitely recommend everyone in high school to do it,” Hannah said.
“But if you’re lucky enough to get chosen, then take the opportunity, and do it to the best of your ability, and really just get as much as you can out of it because it’s the greatest experience ever.”
Also attending the trip was state Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, who completed his second and final walk of Kokoda as a sitting member.
Mr Walsh said the students were quick to settle into the Kokoda Trail lifestyle.
“When you first start, there’s some that are homesick ... all the usuals of being away, but then they settle in, and they love it … and they come away with a lot of history and a lot of knowledge at the end,” he said.
"What we want to achieve is to have the next generation understand the history and be immersed in it … the physicality of the walk and the history combined gives them a lot better understanding.
"We need the next generation to actually appreciate the history and the sacrifices, so they know what was done."
Mr Walsh said that thanks to the dedication of the students and the generous support of community sponsors, the program had well and truly delivered on its goals.