Kanga Force
After the war with Japan began, Wau became an evacuation centre, receiving refugees from Lae and Salamaua. Non-native women and children were evacuated while men of military age were called up for service in the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, the local militia unit. Initially, civilians were evacuated by civilian aircraft but as the Japanese drew closer—bombing Wau on 23 January 1942—it became too dangerous to fly without fighter escort, which was unavailable. This left some 250 European and Asian men stranded. These refugees made a hazardous journey over the Owen Stanley Range on foot by way of Kudjeru and Tekadu to Bulldog, a disused mining settlement where there was an aerodrome, and thence down the Lakekamu River to the sea.
With the feasibility of the route thus demonstrated, New Guinea Force decided to establish a line of communications to Wau via Bulldog. A platoon of the 1st Independent Company left Port Moresby in the schooner Royal Endeavour and traversed the route, joining the men of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles holding the Wau area. This was the beginning of what became Kanga Force on 23 April 1942. On 22 May, the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron USAAF flew in commandos of the 2/5th Independent Company to join Kanga Force. The 2/7th Independent Company followed in October 1942.
Supplies could be flown in to Wau if fighter cover was available. On 5 September, 12 planeloads of supplies were dropped at Kudjeru. To economise on scarce transport aircraft, air transport was supplemented by an overland route. Supplies were shipped to the mouth of the Lakekamu in luggers, transported up the river to Bulldog in launches or powered dugout canoes, and then carried over the Bulldog Track by native carriers.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Wau, Background
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