10 October 1942
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 7:43PM Near Templeton’s Crossing, Sgt Bede Tongs’ patrol from the 3rd Battalion makes contact with the enemy. His orders are to find and engage the enemy, then report back to battalion HQ, so he withdraws his patrol and returns to HQ, now some two days back along the Track.
It soon becomes evident that Gen Horii has set a series of delaying positions, starting near Mt Bellamy, the highest point on the Track, and on each of the two branches of the main Track heading north from Kagi, around Templeton's Crossing and Eora Creek villages.
Around 9.50am three Allied bombers attacked Kokoda and the Wairopi bridge, scoring a direct hit on the bridge and disrupting the Japanese supply route. By the end of the day the main body of the Aust 25th Brigade was moving up the Track between Kagi and Efogi.
Private Noel Geraghty from the 3rd Battlion is sent on a dangerous solo mission to deliver a pack of tea and sugar to natives at Efogi to ensure they were loyal to the Australians not the enemy. After a harrowing trip he successfully completes his mission and returns safely.
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