First Battles On Buna-

Kokoda Road Memories of Over 40 Years Ago

By D. H. Osborne

riTHE entry of the Japanese into the A Buna-Kokoda district brings back to me memories of the first Euro pean incursions in that part of Papua.

During 1898, Alic Clunas and a party made the first expedition. They left from Tamata and took a route across the Opi River and on to the Kumusi, near Bogi. Then, still keeping to the west bank of this river, past Papangi, they crossed the divide into the Mambare and followed it up into the Yodda Valley— the Yodda Valley being on the Mambare watershed.

They found a well-populated and highly cultivated country—the gardens of the Yodda Valley especially taking their eye—and the natives everywhere ap peared to be friendly. On their return they were able to make a favourable report in this regard, therefore, but as far as their own business was concerned they drew a complete blank and did not find any trace of gold.

Soon afterwards, however, a party of four, including George Arbuck, George Griffith and Bob Peel, with their native carriers, also left Tamata for further prospecting in the area. All went well until they were about ten miles past Bogi, where the natives inexplicably and suddenly turned hostile. Crossing a stony creek, with steep banks, they walked straight into an ambush—natives rushed them from all sides and they were quickly overpowered.

This expedition might have ended there, in disaster, had not one carrier managed to free himself and pick up a rifle. He did not know how to cock it; but, when he flung it away from him, it landed, providentially, beside one of the party who was grappling with an attacker —and this attacker the carrier, very sensibly, proceeded to knock uncon scious with a stone.

The white man, making good his escape, pounced on the loaded rifle and opened fire. The natives fled and thus the party was saved—although most of them had received wounds of some sort and had been bruised in the scuffle.

They returned forthwith to Tamata.

Expedition 111, was in the latter part of 1899, and had a much more tangible result. It was led by Mat Crowe —one whose name has gone down in Papuan history—and from it developed the Yodda goldfield. With him were Sam McLen nelland and Archie Walker—the three of them on prospecting bent—and a man called Day, who was hunting birds-of paradise.

Until they had penetrated far into the Yodda Valley and discovered what was to be known as the Yodda field, all was well. But, as usual in this sort of adven ture, food became a problem, and the party went on to Kokoda, then a barri caded village, twelve miles away, in order to buy native food.

The inhabitants were hostile and attacked, killing one or two carriers, and wounding others. Crowe, McLennelland and Walker then returned to Tamata by crossing the Chirima, at the head of the Mambare, and then following the Gira down to the coast. Day remained in the mountains, and nothing but his outfit ever came out—his carriers brought that in to Tamata some time later and re ported his death from illness.

Crowe and party applied for reward claims on the field they had found; and, after the Warden at Tamata had jour

neyed out and thoroughly prospected the ground, and they were granted, the Yodda field became an established fact, with every miner, actual and would-be, who could get the carriers, leaving the Gira River —or wherever or whatever he had been about—and heading straight for the new find.

As with all such goldfields, it was one thing to walk in and peg a claim —quite another to keep oneself and one’s boys supplied with the wherewithal for carry ing on. The job of transporting stores from the coast to the Yodda was any thing but a picnic. First, they were landed at the mouth of the Kumusi by a boat from Samarai and taken up to Bogi, 62 miles inland. The river was rapid, always discoloured, and full of snags, which continually fouled the propellers of the launches with which Ted Aubach and Whitten Brothers were trying to estab lish some sort of service. Finally, these storekeepers reverted to whaleboat, pad dled by natives, but even then these were liable to be capsized by striking obstruc tions, and loud and long were the lamen tations when the precious goods thus found a watery grave.

At Bogi, the cargo was dumped and done up in 50-lb. packs for the five-days carry to the field—and as the Orakiva natives along the track took two years to reconcile themselves to the white man’s advent, and took every conceivable op portunity of showing their displeasure during that period, the lines of carriers had, during these early days, always to be accompanied by a European.

That first road did not cross the main branch of the Kumusi; but, later, C. A.

W. Monckton, while Resident Magistrate of the North-eastern Division, opened a road from Buna Bay—a road that was two or three days longer for carriers, but had the advantage of cutting out the long Kumusi River freight. The chief obstacle was the crossing of the Kumusi, but the Government built a wire-rope suspension bridge; and, as a result, the new Buna-Kokoda road came into use, and the storekeepers moved from Bogi to Buna—2o miles nearer Samarai than was the Kumusi mouth.