Of all the campaigns that took place in the western half of Australian New Guinea during World War II, Shaggy Ridge is among the most neglected. It does not deserve this status. There used to be a graphic, brooding diorama depicting the massiveness of the ridge in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra; unfortunately, it has been removed and replaced by other exhibits.

No one who has been to Shaggy Ridge and negotiated its six kilometres can fail to be impressed by the immensity of the task faced by the Australian troops: to overcome the Japanese defences that honeycombed its crest, including artillery pieces that had been carried up there bit by bit, reassembled, then tunnelled into its side, to bring concealed but devastating fire on subsequent groups of Australian attackers. Because its elevation is well over 1000 metres, it is frequently covered in mist that gives it a sinister feel: a peacetime climber almost expects Frankenstein or a Yeti to appear around the next bend in the track. Shaggy Ridge was a bottleneck that barred passage over the mountains from the Markham-Ramu valleys to the coast and the vital Japanese bases at Madang and Wewak.