Matilda Sowter knows her family’s military history, and the enthusiasm and pride in her eyes when she produces her great-grandfather’s World War II medals are evident.
But the Kyabram P-12 Year 11 student is in no doubt when she joins four other students from the Murray Plains electorate to walk the Kokoda Trail, it will only give her the merest glimpse of what her great-grandfather endured in the war.
In 2023, state Member for Murray Plains and Nationals leader Peter Walsh made the same walk. He found it such a profound experience that he returned home and established the Colin Sinclair Scholarship to give young people from his electorate the same opportunity.
The support of the Kyabram Club has funded the scholarship Matilda received.
It was organised by Kyabram Club manager Greg Ryan on behalf of the club and the wider community.
“The scholarship is named in honour of Rochester’s Colin Sinclair, who fought and died on the Kokoda and whose family still lives in the town today,” Mr Walsh said.
“When I was at Bomona cemetery at the end of my trek last year, it was my privilege to visit Colin’s grave on behalf of his family and his community, and we are hoping to provide Matilda with the name, or names, of people from Kyabram and district who may also be interred there.
“Matilda was an outstanding applicant for the scholarship as her family has kept alive the memory of her great-grandfather and his service in New Guinea and she had an extraordinary knowledge of his story.
“She is also an accomplished athlete, most recently completing a half-marathon in New Zealand, so she has a very solid foundation for the physical challenges ahead.
“Being a long-distance runner also brings with it a certain mental toughness, and she will need that as well for the days of steep climbing, and equally steep, descents – day after day ...’’
Matilda thinks the trip will be “ a great experience” to see a glimpse of what so many Australian and New Zealand soldiers trekked across.
“My great-grandpa Small was a World War II Anzac, and he covered a lot of Papua New Guinea before being deployed to Singapore,” she said.
“He was still there when it fell to the Japanese, and he was a prisoner of war for 42 months in the notorious Sandakan prisoner of war camp in Sumatra.
“His time there was so traumatic my family says he would rarely speak of his experience; he was left with many demons that followed him for life.
“I admire him so much and wish I could have met him, but he passed before my birth – hopefully, this trip will help me better understand his story.”