Kokoda Legend

One of the finest soldiers and most courageous leaders I have ever known. – Lt Doug McClean, D Coy, 39th Battalion

If you have trekked Kokoda, then the campsite of Templeton's Crossing will be familiar. Discover the story of the man behind the name.

Captain Sam Templeton was the first Australian officer to be captured by the Japanese in the Kokoda Campaign. After being interrogated by his captors, he was executed on the battlefield. Prior to facing his enemy, Templeton had predicted his fate, telling one of his platoon commanders that if he went into action, he wouldn’t come back. Having resigned himself to his destiny, Templeton misled his captors on the numerical strength of the Australian forces waiting in Kokoda and Port Moresby.

Did the misinformation given by a militia officer slow the initial push by the Yokoyama Advance Force into the Owen Stanley Range, allowing the Australian Imperial Force to join the fight earlier? Did Templeton create doubt in the mind of the commander of the South Seas Force, influencing an operational change for the attack on Port Moresby?

A quiet and often aloof character originally from Belfast, Captain Sam Templeton is mentioned in just about every book written about Kokoda. Prior to fighting in New Guinea, Templeton is reputed to have helped quash the Irish rebellion, served in submarines with the Royal Navy during the First World War, and to have fought with the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War.

Kokoda Legend goes beyond the myth to discover the real contribution Captain Sam Templeton made to stopping the Japanese advance over the Owen Stanley Range in 1942.