Thread: Kokoda Trail

Funny you should mention that - I asked a friend pretty much the same thing a few weeks ago. When (and why) did they start calling it a track?

Here is your answer....

Kokoda Track or Kokoda Trail ?

The official name of the route is Kokoda Trail. This was gazetted in 1972 and was in accordance with the most widely used term in Australia at that time. (In 1972, Papua was still an Australian Territory).

Prior to this, the Kokoda Trail did not have an official name though in the post-1945 period, use of 'Kokoda Track' was common in Papua New Guinea, and still persists today despite the official proclamation.

Before the 1942 war period, the route was referred to in official papers as 'the overland mail route' while popular usage of 'the Buna road' was widespread.

Historically, overland routes in Papua New Guinea have always been known as 'tracks'. This is not surprising in light of Australia's long association with PNG, and other routes across the country retain their 'track' names to this day; for example, the Bulldog Track and the Jaure Track.

'Trail' became entrenched from its use in Australian newspapers by Australian journalists during the Second World War. The first appearance of 'Kokoda Trail' as a two-term proper noun, in the sense that it is used today, was in Sydney's Daily Mirror of 27th October 1942, though the term 'Kokoda trail' (small T) had been used by a visiting British writer as early as 1935. There is little evidence of American influence in the adoption of 'Trail', which is often suggested.

It is acceptable to use either 'Track' or 'Trail', as you prefer.
Note: We wish to thank Stuart Hawthorne, who has graciously provided the information and text you are reading on this page. Stuart Hawthorne is the author of the book 'The Kokoda Trail - A History', published by Central Queensland University Press.

This book is available from us for AU$39.95 plus shipping and handling. Please contact us to have this book sent to you.
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From the Aust War Memorial

The overwhelming majority of soldiers who fought the campaign also used “track”. In a survey of unit war diaries, letters and personal diaries written during the campaign, Peter Provis, a Memorial summer scholar, found that the word “trail” was used only once in a war diary, in the 2/31st Battalion on 11 September 1942. There were, however, also references to “track” [5].
Provis likewise found that “trail” was used only once in a soldier’s personal diary. On 25 July 1942 Warrant Officer II George Mowat, a Great War veteran serving with the 39th Battalion, wrote in his diary that the “Trail [is] rough steep and slippery”. But two days later he wrote: “Track slippery some places had to crawl. ” [7] Although both terms were used, it is clear that the diggers themselves preferred “track”. It is also reasonable to conclude that soldiers would have used “track” in their speech. It is worth mentioning, however, that rarely were the fuller expressions, “Kokoda Track” or “Kokoda Trail”, used. “Track” was usually used in a generic sense, in reference to a particular track leading to a village or between villages.