While the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I was Australia 's first military test as a new nation , the fighting during the Kokoda campaign represents the first time in the nation 's history that its security was directly threatened . The 1942 newsreel documentary , '' Kokoda Front Line ! '' documented the Australian fighting during the campaign and brought the war home for many Australians . Filmed by Damien Parer , it won an Oscar for the documentary category – the first time an Australian film/documentary was awarded an Oscar . Curator , Poppy De Souza , observes : " This iconic newsreel contains some of the most recognised images of Australian troops in the Second World War , images that have contributed to the collective visual memory of the events at Kokoda . ... quoting Parer a war that seemed until this point ' a million miles away ’ " . Although it has since become accepted that an invasion of Australia was not possible , or even planned by the Japanese , at the time there was a very real belief within Australia that this was possible and as such the Kokoda campaign has come to be viewed by some as the battle that " saved Australia " . As a result , within the collective Australian psyche , the campaign and particularly the role of the 39th Battalion has become a key part of modern notions of the Anzac legend . Indeed , the Battle of Isurava has been described as " Australia 's Thermopylae " , although the key premise of this comparison — the idea that the Australians were outnumbered — has since been shown to be inaccurate
Oscar
15th Academy Awards
Kokoda Track campaign