When Jane Fish and Stella Elliott arrive in Papua-New Guinea to begin their walk in the footsteps of heroes across the Kokoda Trail, they will be carrying a heavy and emotional responsibility.
The Year 11 students – Jane from Echuca College and Stella from St Joseph’s College – will be representing local families whose sons, husbands, brothers and fathers fought on the Kokoda Trail, some who did not come home.
The Colin Sinclair Kokoda Scholarship recipients — two of five from the Murray Plains electorate — will be representing the Sinclair family.
Jane and Stella are joining State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh and other scholarship recipients on the trail.
As a member of B-Company in the 39th Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Colin Sinclair was among the first Australian troops to journey across the trail to confront the Japanese at Kokoda.
B-Company withdrew to Deniki, where the other companies of the 39th had arrived, and then fought at the battle of Isurava – where he was reported as missing in action.
In the following weeks, a number of the ‘missing’ would make their way back to their units through the jungle, although many were never seen again – either killed in action, caught and executed by the Japanese, or simply succumbing to wounds, to the jungle and to hunger.
Lt Col Sinclair appeared to have been one of the lucky ones, and four days later, was able to rejoin his unit.
But that wasn’t to last.
Sent to the battle of the northern beaches, he suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen and legs and then contracted dengue fever – dying on December 19, 1942.
He was just 28.
Lt Col Sinclair’s cousin Ronald, from Moama, also served in the 39th and he returned home.
The girls said they expected their visit to Bomana War Cemetery at the end of the walk would be an emotional one.
Where they will visit the graves of Bruce McDonald, Thomas Doolan and Francis McFadzean.
They are making the walk thanks to the generous support of the sponsors behind the scholarship program – especially Moama RSL, Rich River Golf Club, Freemasons Foundation Victoria and Tiverton Agricultural Impact Fund.
“Bruce McDonald, who originally came from Gunbower, died of scrub typhus on Christmas Day, 1942, and is today buried in Bomana War Cemetery,” Stella said.
“He was a private and had been working as a farm labourer when he enlisted at age 31 after already having served 12 months in the reserves,” she said.
Many of the men who served in the Pacific died from disease and Pvt McDonald was sent to the Northern Beaches campaign.
He was hospitalised on December 14 with typhus, which sadly was often a painful death, as many who contracted it were not in the best of shape and had no defences to fight it.”
Jane said Tom Doolan was killed in action at the battle of Isurava on August 30 in 1942.
He was born in Koondrook, and like most of the troops in the 2/14th, he first served in the Middle East, before arriving in New Guinea on August 12.
“He was initially reported missing in action on August 30, but was soon found to have been killed in the fighting, in what was a dark day for the 2/14th,” Jane said.
“Tom was one of the soldiers lost in this battle who had his body recovered at a later date and he was originally buried at Kokoda cemetery before being taken to his final resting place at Bomana War Cemetery,” she said.
“He was aged 27 when he was killed at Isurava and as we will be attending a Dawn Service there, we will also stop to remember him at that battle site as well.”
The girls said they would also take an awareness of other locals who fought in the Papua-New Guinea campaigns.
Soldiers such as Cecil Hutchinson, who lived and worked in and around Echuca and Tongala – even though he was born in Chile and relocated here – enlisting at the age of 24.
“Cecil fought at Deniki and Isurava, and then later in the Northern Beaches campaign, and was one of the lucky ones to have survived the war,” the girls said.
“Ivan Bryan also fought at Deniki and Isurava and at the Northern Beaches, and so did Ivan Beatton, who came from Bamawm.
“Bernie Rawlings did a lot of work as a farmhand in Tongala and Echuca and was working at Tonny when he enlisted.
“It will be our privilege, and honour, to visit, and remember all these men for the people of Echuca-Moama and district.”