Tracing the footsteps of heroes in Timor-Leste
Recipients of the Jonathan Church Good Soldiering and CA's Instructor of the Year awards explore the battlefields of WWII in Timor.
Participants reach the peak of Mount Ramelau, the highest mountain in Timor Leste and the highest point of the La Rende Track. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
2026 Chief of Army Instructor of the Year Sgt Matthew Booth hikes the La Rende Track during a battlefield study tour in Timor Leste. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
Participants hike past a Timorese pony – the same breed used to carry supplies for the 2/2 Independent Company in WWII – during a battlefield study tour in Timor-Leste. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
Participants take part in a cultural exchange with a Timorese elder inside a traditional Timorese house, known as an Uma Lulik, as part of a battlefield study tour in Timor-Leste. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award recipient Cpl Sophie Harris hikes to the peak of Mount Ramelau along the La Rende Track during a battlefield study tour in Timor-Leste. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
Participants hike along a mountain ridge in Timor Leste. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
Participants refresh after a hot day of hiking with coconuts supplied by local Timorese. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers
RSM-C WO1 Matthew Fuery, left, and 2026 CA's Instructor of the Year Sgt Matthew Booth cross a river on the La Rende Track in Timor Leste. Photo: Cpl Michael Rogers