By Romy Stephens
A competition has been opened to provide Year 11 students across the Yarra Ranges a chance to win a free trek to the Kokoda Trail.
The Cowey-Selman Kokoda Award will see students create a Powerpoint, art, poetry or essay of up to 600 words explaining the Kokoda and Northern Beaches Campaign.
The award is an initiative of the 39th Infantry Battalion (1941-43) Association and the Mount Evelyn, Monbulk and Lilydale RSL sub-branches.
Mount Evelyn RSL President Roger Boness said the competition is to help acknowledge the importance of children in maintaining history.
“We go out of our way to include the children in all of our activities,” he said.
“Our kids, when we go and talk to them, they’re quite knowledgeable. They know more than what I knew when I was a kid.”
Veteran of the 39th Battalion and the battle of Kokoda James Bruce and his granddaughter Kristy-Ann Mays – history co-ordinator at Lilydale High School – helped support the launch of the competition.
Mr Bruce said it provided a great opportunity for students to learn more about history.
“It’s a very credible thing to do because I know we never got anything like this in my day,” he said.
“They probably will think back on it for all their life.”
Meanwhile, Ms Mays said it’s vital that younger generations maintain their engagement in history.
“I use Pa a lot in the classroom and talk about Pa and show photos. I’m incredibly proud of him,” she said.
“It’s really important that we don’t lose these voices and we don’t lose these stories.
“It’s my generation, it’s the next generation, it’s our responsibility to keep this going.”
Ms Mays added that it was very encouraging to see how engaged students already were in history.
“Being a history teacher and teaching high school students, their interest is incredible in war history,” she said.
“They’re really engaged and really interested in the topics, especially Kokoda because it’s something that they’ve started to learn more about.
“They hear the stories and they’re amazed by what people have done.”
The Cowey-Selman Kokoda Award is named in honour of two local veterans of the 39th Battalion, James Cowey from Monbulk and Geoffrey Selman from Lilydale.
The winner will join a Kokoda trek at no cost to themselves other than personal medications, spending money and gifts for the local Papua New Guinea locals.
The successful student will also be offered assistance with training prior to the trek.
Competition entries need to be in by 5pm on 27 March.
For more information about the competition or how to get involved, contact mtevrsl@gmail.com.
