Back, Kooweerup-Lang Lang Rotary Club member Rudy De Jong, Cr Graham Legge, Kokoda Historical Tours David Howell, Lauren Harrison (Kooweerup Secondary student), Liam Trigg (Beaconhills College), Adele Clydesdale (Beaconhills College), Mary-Anne Murphy (St Thomas Aquinas), MP Edward O’Donohue, Councillors Stuart Halligan and Brett Owen.
By Justin Robertson
MEMBERS and local war veterans of the 39th Australian Infantry Battalion Association met with the two 2010 Harold Bould Memorial award winners in Pakenham earlier this week.
The Harold Bould award – an award available each year to Year 10 students who are enrolled in secondary schools or living in the Cardinia Shire – gives students the opportunity to walk the historic Kokoda Track and the infamous northern beaches where Australian soldiers lost their lives.
Mary-Anne Murphy from St Thomas Aquinas and Adele Clydesdale, Beaconhills Secondary College, sent in their 600-word essays on What Kokoda Means to Me and What it Meant to Australia last September and were announced winners on 1 December 2010. For the past six months, they’ve been trekking through Olinda, Mt Dandenong Ranges and the 1000 Steps as part of their training program before they embark on the historic track.
“The training was tough,” Mary-Anne said.
“Each time we walked, our packs would increase in weight, but it would get easier each time. I’m extremely excited, just want to get there and do it now, it’ll be such a great opportunity.”
The two students will walk the exact historic track that the soldiers walked and get to visit the Northern beaches with David Howell, tour leader for the Kokoda historical society and will guide them through the arduous and difficult two-week trek.
Adele, who plays netball for Monash University Central, had to juggle sport and hiking.
“The training has gone very quickly,” she said.
“I feel like I’m as fit as I can be, so I’m definitely ready for it. Can’t wait to experience the kids, the villages, the trek, and just the culture.”
The competition was first held in the shire in 2008 and was named after Harold Bould of Cardinia who came from a potato and onion farming background.
Mr Bould was one of 10 children. Five brothers from this family enlisted for service during WWII.
Harold and his brother Keith did not come home.
Private Harold Bould who served in B company, 39th Battalion, was killed in action at Kokoda Village on 29 July 1942, only eight days after the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea. He has no known grave. Brother Keith was taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore, and he died when in prison.
Alan Jameson, president of the 39th Battalion Association said the award was made to honour Mr Bould who was killed in action.
“He made a huge sacrifice for the shire, and it’s our responsibility to let the kids know more about the sacrifices made during war,” he said.
“We should never take our freedom for granted – someone paid the price for our freedom.”
