31 July 1942

Pte Kevin ‘Spud’ Whelan receives his first Bren gun at Deniki while awaiting the Japanese advance. It's still in its wooden packing case covered with grease. He's never seen one before. His officer tells him to wipe off the grease and he’ll show him how to use it. “I didn’t know that in a few days time I would have to use it for real, but I fell in love with it and nursed it like a baby.”

In Moresby, Capt Alan Cameron, a survivor of the 2/22nd Battalion which was lost in Rabaul, is promoted to Major and named temporary commander of Maroubra Force, the 39th Bn and PIB on the Track. He hurries back up the Track to meet his men at Deniki.