Mail runner, Kokoda Trail

Mail runners used to carry mail in the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. According to historian Stuart Hawthorne, before World War II, the route was referred to as "the overland mail route" or "the Buna road". He states that "Kokoda Trail" became common because of its use in Australian newspapers during the war, the first known instance being in Sydney's Daily Mirror on 27 October 1942.
Depicted are two varieties of commemorative covers in the Moresby Kokoda Mail runner re-renactment of 1985 and a map showing Kokoda trail in Papua New Guinea