How the ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ helped save Australian soldiers in WWII

The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were local people from Papua New Guinea who came from the villages along and near the Kokoda Track.

Many belonged to the Orokaiva, Koiari, and Binandere groups in the Oro Province and surrounding regions.

Their nickname came from the curly texture of their hair and the kindness with which they aided the wounded Australians.

They were not trained soldiers or medical personnel; instead, they were civilians whose homes and communities had been drawn into a world war that reached their land. 

Recruitment of these carriers often occurred through the cooperation of local village leaders and Australian officers.

Many Papuans felt a sense of duty to help the Australians who had come to fight the Japanese, whose invasion threatened their own homes and families.

Experts estimate that up to 16,000 Papuans worked as carriers during the Kokoda Campaign, although only around 3,000 remained active at any one time because of heavy casualties and illness.

They worked under dangerous conditions, often unarmed and at risk from enemy fire or ambushes, and thousands of them died from disease, exhaustion, or Japanese attacks. 

The carriers transported supplies to the front lines and evacuated wounded soldiers along narrow mountain paths.

They carried ammunition, food, and equipment up steep tracks that often became impossible to cross due to heavy rains.

They also transported messages and guided Australian troops through unknown terrain.

However, their knowledge of the local environment allowed them to navigate routes that foreign soldiers would have struggled to follow. 

The most famous aspect of their work was the evacuation of wounded soldiers.

They carried the injured on stretchers or sometimes supported them by hand, and the journeys could take days as they traversed rugged hills, fast-flowing rivers, and mud-filled tracks.

Many of the carriers gave up their own food and water to aid the Australians they escorted.

A famous photograph taken in 1942 showed Private George “Dick” Whittington, who was helped by Raphael Oimbari, a Papuan carrier, which became a lasting image of their compassion.

Their quiet dedication earned the respect and gratitude of Australian troops who recognised the remarkable effort required to provide such assistance under fire. 

Australian records indicate that more than 600 Australians died during the campaign, and many of the wounded who survived did so because of the efforts of Papuan carriers.

The carriers displayed patience and compassion as they tended to the wounded and halted to rest or adjusted stretchers, which reduced the pain of those they were helping.

Eyewitness accounts described how they would fan flies away from the faces of injured soldiers or shade them from the hot sun with makeshift coverings.

One Australian veteran later said, “They were magnificent. They never left a man behind.” 

Their actions allowed medical personnel at rear positions to treat injuries that otherwise would have been fatal.

Australian soldiers and commanders later acknowledged that their victories along the Kokoda Track would have been impossible without this assistance.

As a result, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels became a powerful sign of friendship between Australians and the people of Papua New Guinea.

Decades later, surviving carriers received medals and awards from the Australian government, and in 2009, they were formally recognised with a commemorative medallion.

Many Australian veterans returned to Papua New Guinea in later years to honour the men who had saved them during one of the hardest campaigns of the war.