The Canberra Raiders will wear a special jersey during ANZAC round this season in their match against the Dolphins, which pays homage to the brave servicemen who served on the Kokoda campaign during the Second World War.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, with the Kokoda campaign recognised as one of the most significant and pivotal campaigns involving Australia during the War in the Pacific.
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The Raiders have partnered with the Australian War Memorial to source imagery for this year’s jersey. The main image featured on the front of the jersey is of an anonymous soldier looking out across the deep valleys towards Ioribaiwa on the Kokoda Trail, from a point where the road ends and the descent by foot track commences.
The image of the anonymous soldier was taken by Warrant Officer (later Lieutenant) Thomas (Tom) Fisher in 1942. Fisher was the only Military History Section photographer to be killed in action in the Second World War. He was killed on 16 November 1942, at the age of 34, while serving with the New Guinea Force Public Relations Field Unit.
The jersey also features an early map of the Kokoda Trail from the Australian War Memorial National Collection. Before the Kokoda campaign, accurate maps of the trail were non-existent. In March 1942, a small survey section was established as part of the New Guinea Force to produce maps to assist with operations in the area.
The Raiders will wear the jersey in the ANZAC round fixture on Sunday April 27, with an announcement to follow in the coming days surrounding some fundraising initiatives to support the Australian War Memorial Anzac Foundation.
Raiders CEO Don Furner said the Raiders were proud to partner with the Australian War Memorial to help commemorate and remember one of the country’s most significant historical moments.
“The Raiders are very fortunate to have the support of the Australian War Memorial to help source imagery and historical information for the club’s ANZAC round jersey this year,” Furner said. “The Australian War Memorial is such an important part of Australian culture, and with their help, we’ve been able to work on a jersey this year that commemorates such a significant part of our nation's history in Kokoda.”
Director of the Australian War Memorial, Matt Anderson, said: “We hope the Raiders can find true inspiration from the Kokoda story and draw on the words on the granite pillars on the Kokoda Track: courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice.”
“We are an archive, a shine and a museum and with collaborations like this, we become part of the community, too.”
The Australian War Memorial’s Photographic, Film and Sound Collection Manager, Lauren Hewitt said: “The work of these photographers provides the nation with a frank and honest depiction of Australia’s involvement in conflict during these periods, and is an important historical record of which the Memorial are the proud custodians.”
The Memorial’s new Charles Bean Research Centre is open to all visitors interested in accessing the Memorial’s archive and digital collections.
Memorial staff and volunteers are on hand to help with your enquiries, including research and family history.
FOR BACKGROUND:
More information on the imagery featured in this year's jersey can be found via the links below on the Australian War Memorial website.
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C10338
