Awala Village (below) is located 30 kilometres south west of the township of Popondetta along the Kokoda Highway, Northern Province in Papua New Guinea.
Awala was the scene of heavy fighting during World War II
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In 942 the Australian Army officers went throughout the Northern (Oro) Province to recruit able men to fight the Japanese invaders. Hence the people of Northern Province contributed to the war effort as the Papuan Infantry Battalion (P.I.B) soldiers and military porters on famous Kokoda Track.
The Japanese Army was getting ready to invade Australia. As an indication of their intention, they landed some 13000 troops at Buna on the coast to attack Port Moresby via the Kokoda Track. If the Japanese took Port Moresby, their next offensive would be Australia.
Naturally Australia was panic-stricken. Most of their war hardened troops were in Europe fighting Hitler. In its haste to stop the invading Japanese, Australia sent in the 39th Battalion, a bunch of raw fighting men called “Diggers” to fight alongside the native PIB in what was to become the famous “Kokoda Campaign”
It was from this perspective that Awala becomes prominent with the history of the World War II in the Northern Province. It was at Awala that the PIB and "B" Company from Australia's 39th first engaged in military combat –this was here the “first shots” were fired against the enemy Japanese forces and the men of the PIB encountered their maiden warfare.
The Awala War Memorial
Awala First Shot War Tourism & Historical Services is an initiative of a few descendants of the PIB. The initiative will look into establishing a War Memorial Monument and Park that will honour the Papuan Infantry Battalion who fought alongside the Australian diggers.
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•We are guided tour operators for tourists walking the Kokoda track and Buna battlefields
• As custodians of the War Memorial facilities, we organize tours for war veterans or their families to visit war sites and view preserved war relics
• We facilitate Dawn Services for Remembrance Day and other events to commemorate the war history
• Visitors can get a guided tour of the active Mt. Lamington volcano
• We can facilitate “whitewater” kayaking for adventurous tourists
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