'It's our battalion': Moruya remembers Kokoda campaign after 80 years

When War Came to Moruya committee member Gary Traynor said it was important to remember the "iconic battle" and the local heroes who served.

The 3rd Battalion Citizens Military Force were recruited from the south coast area including the Eurobodalla.

"This is our battalion," Mr Traynor said.

These men included Owen Baskett and Trevor Knight from Moruya.

Mr Knight was just 19 when he enrolled in the army.

He left Moruya to fight in the jungle.

"He stood at the historic Moruya Post Office and caught a bus to go to war," Mr Traynor said.

"They were just country farm boys, and in the space of five months they find themselves in thick jungle in New Guinea."

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Mr Traynor visited the national archives in Canberra to research the history of Moruya's local heroes.

The Kokoda Campaign concluded on November 3 1942 when the Australian Flag was raised above Kokoda Village.

It is the final major battle the When War Came to Moruya committee will recognise in 2022.

The committee had organised for bunker tours and a ceremony, however both were cancelled because of rain and flooding.

Instead, there is an event at Moruya Golf Club on November 5 with key speaker Gary Tongs - son of Captain Bede Tongs who served as a sergeant at Kokoda.

For more information, or to register, visit the website.