Orbost Community College student, Jasmine Westaway spent the June-July school holidays undertaking a life-changing pilgrimage, following the footsteps of soldiers from the 39th and 2/14th Battalions while trekking the Kokoda trail in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Thanks to the generosity of community sponsors, students in year 11 are provided an opportunity to participate in the trek through the Arthur Grassby Scholarship Program.
The application involves submitting an essay, a personal connection and a questionnaire and, if short-listed, attending an interview with a panel of current or ex-service personnel at Tim Bull MP’s office.
Jasmine was incredibly fortunate to attend an interview and to then be selected.
With a few months until the journey, it was time to arrange her schedule to focus on a training regime, think about trek preparations, medical requirements and necessary equipment.
Sunday mornings were spent as a group walking Mt Taylor with weighted backpacks and training with the Gippsland contingent walking Gentle Annie.
Fifty-two students from around Victoria who had received the scholarship touched down in Port Moresby from Brisbane, and for Jasmine it was the first time flying without her family.
The group spent nine days hiking 138 kilometres from Owers corner to Kokoda led by Tim Bull MC and 2IC Peter Bull.
“Most days were spent in the hot and humid weather which could be very uncomfortable at some points because your whole body would be sweating and not dry again until the evening,” Jasmine said.
“Throughout the middle days of the trek where we hiked in the high altitudes of the Owen Stanley range it could be quite cold and most of us wore jackets or long sleeves.
“Not the best conditions to battle a developing flu and tonsillitis halfway through, but there was no other option than to soldier on.
“Our trek leader, willy had pieces of ginger that I could chew on to help with the sickness. Despite the fevers and fatigue I kept in my mind the trauma and terrible conditions faced by the soldiers in that same terrain and the perspective of how fortunate I was in comparison.”
Throughout the journey, the group would camp in local villages.
There were many key battle sites to learn about and reflect upon the challenges of wartime, and Tim shared invaluable history with the students to consider along the journey.
“Every single place had its own uniqueness. Each crossing (there were over 100 river and creek crossings) was special and picturesque,” Jasmine said.
“We were welcomed in to many villagers by friendly locals and curious children, some in extremely remote areas.
“I couldn’t have done the trek without my porter Nick, a lovely Papua New Guinea native who grew up in one of the bigger villages called Menari.
“When we passed through I met one of his sisters and his mum. His three children and wife live in Port Moresby.”
When the group finished the trek in Kokoda they flew back to Port Moresby.
Each student was allocated a fallen Gippsland soldier to carry, honour across the journey and share notes about along the trek.
The intention was to visit their soldiers’ grave at the Bomana War Cemetery to pay their respects.
Jasmine’s allocated soldier was John Robinson (Pte, 39th), of Orbost, killed in action August 8, 1942, aged 27.
With no known grave, he is remembered on Panel 7 at Bomana War Cemetery.
A dairy farm labourer before enlisting at age 26, John was in 17 Platoon with Joe Dwyer, D Company and was killed in the attempt to re-take Kokoda from Deniki.
It was the role of D Company to explore the path to Kokoda down the eastern flank from Deniki and to come into Kokoda from the vicinity of the Kokoda/Oivi track.
They met strong opposition and were cut off.
There are two stories of what happened to John.
The most reliable account is from the war diary of a colleague that says the Australians walked into a Japanese ambush and John was killed instantly by a gun shot.
His body was never recovered.
Arthur Grassby was a Kokoda veteran who was just 16 when he engaged in battle with the Japanese.
In later life he resided in Bairnsdale and was pleased to have the scholarship commence in his name before passing in 2022.
Because of the sponsors who generously contribute to the Arthur Grassby Kokoda Scholarship Treks, Jasmine was able to honour a fallen Gippsland soldier, learn about the treacherous conditions, the challenging terrain, and reflect upon the enormity of the sacrifices that so many Gippslanders gave to the wartime efforts and experience a sense of the comradeship and mateship developed in the dense tropical rainforests of PNG 84 years ago.
Jasmine felt compelled to take this opportunity to deepen her understanding of this courage and mateship, and inspired by the experiences of her great grandfathers’ during WW2.
Jasmine is incredibly grateful for the experience of trekking Kokoda and the memories created with wonderful people.
If she can return again for a second time she certainly will not hesitate to continue and honour this significant legacy.
