Bulldog Airfield

Military Disuse. The airfield's sole purpose was to serve as the southern logistical terminus for the Bulldog-Wau Track. As the war front moved north and more direct supply routes were established, the track and its associated airfield became redundant. Its extremely remote location in dense jungle made it economically unviable for any post-war civilian or commercial use, leading to its abandonment.

The site is completely abandoned and has been reclaimed by the surrounding rainforest. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals the faint, straight-line outline of the former runway, but it is now entirely covered with dense jungle and is completely unusable. There are no visible remains of any airport buildings or infrastructure. The area is uninhabited, with the small, remote settlement of Bulldog being the nearest sign of civilization.

Bulldog Airfield was a vital logistical hub for the Allied forces during the New Guinea Campaign of World War II. Constructed in 1943 by Australian Army Engineers and Papuan laborers, it served as the southern anchor of the Bulldog Track, a monumental 60-mile overland road built through mountains and jungle to supply the Allied base at Wau. The airfield received supplies and personnel flown in by transport aircraft, primarily Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas), from Port Moresby. This cargo was then transferred to trucks for the arduous journey up the track, a critical operation that bypassed Japanese-controlled sea and air lanes. The airfield and track were instrumental in sustaining the forces that fought in the successful Wau-Salamaua campaign.

There are no known plans, discussions, or prospects for reopening Bulldog Airfield. The extreme remoteness, the lack of any significant local population or economic driver (such as mining, large-scale agriculture, or tourism), and the immense cost required to clear the dense jungle, survey the land, and rebuild the facility from scratch make any future reactivation highly improbable.