Kokoda is a station town in the

Oro Province Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province in the Southern Region, Papua New Guinea, Southern Region of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The provinc ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It is famous as the northern end of the

Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japane ...

, site of the eponymous

Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primar ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In that campaign, it had strategic significance because it had the only airfield along the Track. In the decades preceding, it had been a foothills settlement near the gold fields. Kokoda is located within the administrative divisions of

Kokoda Rural LLG Kokoda Rural LLG is a local-level government (LLG) of Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. Wards *01. Asimba *02. Kovelo *04. Saga *06. Iora Lss Blocks *07. Kebara *08. Abuari *09. Alola *10. Waju *11. Hangiri *12. Ambene *13. Ilimo *14. Hamara *15. ...

Establishment of the station town

The British colonial administration found that a base for the Papuan Native Constabulary and colonial control was required to subdue the region and the government station of Kokoda was founded in 1904.

World War II

An amphibious landing by Japanese forces to capture Port Moresby was postponed indefinitely after the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...

. The Japanese command believed there to be a road leading through the Owen-Stanleys from Kokoda to the south coast. An invasion force was landed on the north coast near Buna and

Gona Gona may refer to: People * Gona Budda Reddy * Gona Ganna Reddy * Marigona Dragusha, Kosovar model Places * Gona, Ethiopia * Gona, Papua New Guinea * Gona Barracks, Australia {{dab ...

from 21 July 1942. Two battles were fought in and around the village during the opening stages of the Kokoda Track campaign. Kokoda was reoccupied by Australian forces on 2 November 1942, following the Japanese withdrawal back to the north coast. The station is linked by a rough road and a two-hour journey to the provincial capital of

Popondetta Popondetta (sometimes spelled Popondota) is the capital of Oro (Northern) Province in Papua New Guinea. In 1951 the city became the focus of relief efforts after nearby Mount Lamington erupted and killed 4,000 people. Popondetta is near to ...

. In August 2009 Kokoda airstrip was the destination for

Airlines PNG Flight CG4684 An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

that crashed whilst attempting to land. All 13 people on board were killed in the crash, including nine Australian passengers who were due to trek the Kokoda Track, a Japanese passenger, and three Papua New Guineans, including the two pilots.

Climate

Kokoda has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Oro Province

Establishment of the station town

World War II

Climate

See also

References