'Beyond the Battlefield' military history talk

Welcome to our November Friends of Kokoda (FoK) 'Beyond the Battlefield' military history talk event!

Join us on Saturday 29 November 2025 at 10:30 AM at the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway's Ralph Honner Education Centre, where our speakers discuss events that often occured beyond a battlefield, but relate to military history topics.

The talk in November will see author Colin Burgess discuss 'Sisters in captivity – Australian Army nurses in Sumatra 1942-1945'. This is the incredible account of Sister Betty Jeffrey OAM and the Australian war nurses who survived the bombing of evacuation ship SS Vyner Brooke in February 1942, and subsequently spent three years in Japanese Pr*son camps in Sumatra.

During those perilous years surviving in squalid conditions, Sister Jeffrey kept a secret diary of day-to-day events which, after the war, was turned into a hugely successful book and radio serial: White Coolies. She would often write of the powerful sisterhood that evolved as the prisoners of war took strength from each other, even forming a vocal orchestra. White Coolies was a major inspiration for the 1997 film Paradise Road.

Admission for members of the FoK program is free; others can pay a small donation of $5.00 on the day (or through our website).

Connect with fellow military history enthusiasts at the Walkway and don't miss out on this unique experience!

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