‘You’re the chief now’: Lavish welcome for Albanese in Kokoda

High 30-plus-degree temperatures and sweltering humidity is expected for the walk. On Tuesday night, the prime ministers will camp together in the battle site camp of Deniki before making the arduous climb to the war memorial at Isurava, where they will attend a dawn service on Thursday morning.

The Kokoda campaign, which lasted from July to November 1942, played a crucial role in preventing the Japanese forces from isolating Australia from its allies.

An estimated 625 Australians were killed and more than 1600 were wounded along the track, which was part of Australian territory at the time.

Albanese said Australians would never forget the Papua New Guineans who fought alongside Australian troops in their “darkest hour” in 1942 as they beat back the invading Japanese forces.

“The Prime Minister, my dear friend James Marape and I will walk side by side, step by step, together,” Albanese said to applause

“This symbolises the fact that Australia and Papua New Guinea’s future is together.”

Noting that Oro translated to welcome in English, Albanese thanked the locals for their “extraordinarily warm” welcome to Kokoda.

“The Australian national anthem has never sounded better,” he told the PNG children who sang Advance Australia Fair for the leaders.