Emu War
Imagine a government declaring war—not on another nation, but on birds. In 1932, desperate Australian farmers, facing both economic hardship and a devastating invasion of emus, called upon the military for help. What unfolded was a peculiar, often comical, yet very real conflict that pitted modern weaponry against the natural cunning of Australia's largest native bird, leaving an indelible mark on the nation's history and sense of humor. The "Emu War" was a unique Australian military campaign launched by desperate WWI veteran farmers battling crop destruction during the Great Depression. Despite advanced weaponry, the emus' natural agility and "guerrilla tactics" proved remarkably effective, highlighting the surprising challenges of wildlife management. The highly publicized conflict revealed the limits of military intervention in ecological problems, ultimately leading to more pragmatic, long-term solutions.
AI Summary
Imagine a government declaring war—not on another nation, but on birds. In 1932, desperate Australian farmers, facing both economic hardship and a devastating invasion of emus, called upon the military for help. What unfolded was a peculiar, often comical, yet very real conflict that pitted modern weaponry against the natural cunning of Australia's largest native bird, leaving an indelible mark on the nation's history and sense of humor.
- The "Emu War" was a unique Australian military campaign launched by desperate WWI veteran farmers battling crop destruction during the Great Depression.
- Despite advanced weaponry, the emus' natural agility and "guerrilla tactics" proved remarkably effective, highlighting the surprising challenges of wildlife management.
- The highly publicized conflict revealed the limits of military intervention in ecological problems, ultimately leading to more pragmatic, long-term solutions.
The Unlikely Conflict: Emu War of 1932
In the arid Wheatbelt of Western Australia, a crisis was brewing in late 1932. Farmers were struggling, not just with the Great Depression, but with a new, feathered foe: thousands of emus. These large, flightless birds were devastating their crops, leading to an extraordinary plea for military intervention.
To understand the farmers' desperation, we must look back to the end of World War I. Many discharged veterans had been given land by the Australian government to farm in Western Australia—often in agriculturally marginal areas. Then came the Great Depression in 1929, pushing these soldier-settlers to their breaking point as wheat prices plummeted and promised government subsidies never materialized.
Compounding their woes was the arrival of approximately 20,000 emus. These native birds regularly migrated from inland regions to the coast after their breeding season. But with cleared farmlands offering new sources of water and food, the cultivated fields became an irresistible, destructive banquet.
The emus weren't just eating crops; they were trampling them and, crucially, tearing down fences. These breaches allowed an even greater menace—rabbits—to invade, causing further devastation. The farmers, many of whom had seen the horrors of trench warfare, knew what they needed: machine guns.
A delegation of these ex-soldiers met with Sir George Pearce, the Minister of Defence. Pearce readily agreed to deploy military personnel and Lewis guns, but with conditions: the Western Australian government would fund transport, and the farmers would cover ammunition costs, food, and accommodation. Pearce even saw it as good target practice and a public relations opportunity, enlisting a Fox Movietone cinematographer to document the unique operation.
The "War" Begins
The military operation, ironically dubbed the "Emu War" by the media, began in November 1932. Major Gwynydd Purves Wynne-Aubrey Meredith, armed with two Lewis guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, led a small squad of soldiers. Their mission: cull the emu population and, according to some reports, even collect 100 emu skins for light horsemen's hats.
First Attempt: A Fumbling Start
The initial encounters proved unexpectedly difficult. On November 2nd, the troops located a flock of 50 emus near Campion. Attempts to herd them into an ambush failed as the birds scattered into smaller, fast-moving groups, making them incredibly hard to target. A few birds were killed, but it was far from a decisive victory.
Major Meredith then tried setting an ambush near a dam, where over a thousand emus were sighted. But after only a dozen birds were killed, the gun jammed, and the remaining birds fled. Over the following days, observers noticed the emus were adapting, employing what some called "guerrilla tactics"—each pack seemingly led by a vigilant "big black-plumed bird" that warned of human approach.
In a desperate move, Meredith even mounted a machine gun on a truck. However, the rough terrain and the emus' incredible speed meant the truck couldn't keep pace, and the ride was too bumpy to fire effectively. After six days and 2,500 rounds, official kill estimates ranged wildly from 50 to 500 birds, with Major Meredith ruefully noting his men had suffered no casualties "except for their dignity." Negative media attention led to the military's withdrawal on November 8th.
Second Attempt: A More Measured Approach
The emu attacks persisted, and farmers once again pleaded for military assistance. Premier James Mitchell of Western Australia lent his strong support, and by November 12th, Minister Pearce approved a resumption of efforts. Despite initial plans for local gunners, Major Meredith was once again sent to the field due to a lack of experienced personnel.
Taking to the field on November 13th, the second attempt saw a degree of success. Over the next few weeks, the soldiers managed to kill around 100 emus per week. When Meredith was recalled on December 10th, he claimed 986 confirmed kills using 9,860 rounds—a ratio of precisely 10 rounds per bird—and an additional 2,500 wounded. However, this figure is widely disputed and likely heavily inflated.
Aftermath and Legacy
Despite the mixed results, farmers continued to request military assistance in 1934, 1943, and 1948, but were always turned down. Instead, a bounty system, which had been in place since 1923, proved far more effective; over 57,000 bounties were claimed in a six-month period in 1934 alone.
Word of the peculiar "Emu War" quickly spread, reaching the United Kingdom where some conservationists protested the cull. However, a more enduring and practical solution emerged: exclusion barrier fencing. These fences proved highly effective in keeping emus, dingoes, and rabbits out of agricultural areas. To this day, the Emu War remains a quirky, often humorous, yet genuinely significant chapter in Australian history—a testament to human ingenuity, and avian resilience, even inspiring upcoming comedy films.
Article
Emu War
The Emu War (or Great Emu War) was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia in late 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus, large flightless birds indigenous to Australia, said to have been destroying crops in the Campion district within the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. The unsuccessful attempts to curb the emu population led to the deployment of Royal Australian Artillery soldiers armed with Lewis guns—leading the media to adopt the name "Emu War" when referring to the incident. Although many birds were killed, the emu population persisted and continued to cause crop destruction.
Background
Emu War
Fallow caused by emus
Following World War I, large numbers of discharged veterans who served in the war were given land by the Australian government to take up farming within Western Australia, often in agriculturally marginal areas. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, these farmers were encouraged to increase their wheat crops, with the government promising—and failing to deliver—assistance in the form of subsidies. Because of the recommendations and the promised subsidies, wheat prices continued to fall, and by October 1932, the situation intensified, with the farmers preparing to harvest the season's crop while simultaneously threatening to refuse to deliver the wheat.
The farmers' difficulties were worsened by the arrival of approximately 20,000 emus. Emus regularly migrate after their breeding season, heading to the coast from the inland regions. With the cleared land and additional water supplies being made available for livestock by the Western Australian farmers, the emus found that the cultivated lands were good habitat, and they began to foray into farm territory—in particular the marginal farming land around Chandler and Walgoolan. The emus consumed and spoiled the crops and left large gaps in fences where rabbits could enter and cause further problems.
Farmers relayed their concerns about the birds ravaging their crops, and a deputation of ex-soldiers were sent to meet with the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce. Having served in World War I, the soldier-settlers were well aware of the effectiveness of machine guns, and they requested their deployment. The minister readily agreed, although with conditions attached: the guns were to be used by military personnel, troop transport was to be financed by the Western Australian government, and the farmers would provide food, accommodation, and payment for the ammunition. Pearce also supported the deployment on the grounds that the birds would make good target practice, while it has also been argued that some in the government may have viewed the operation as a way of being seen to be helping the Western Australian farmers, as well as to stave off the nascent secession movement. Toward that end, a cinematographer from Fox Movietone was enlisted.
The "war"
Emu War
Defence minister Sir George Pearce ordered the army to cull the emu population. He was later called the "Minister of the Emu War" in parliament by Senator James Dunn.
Military involvement was due to begin in October 1932. The "war" was conducted under the command of Major Gwynydd Purves Wynne-Aubrey Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery's 7th Heavy Artillery, with Meredith commanding soldiers Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O'Halloran, armed with two Lewis guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. The operation was delayed by a period of rainfall that caused the emus to scatter over a wider area. The rain ceased by 2 November 1932, whereupon the troops were deployed with orders to assist the farmers and, according to a newspaper account, to collect 100 emu skins so that their feathers could be used to make hats for light horsemen.
First attempt
On 2 November, the men travelled to Campion, where some 50 emus were sighted. As the birds were out of range of the guns, the local settlers attempted to herd the emus into an ambush, but the birds split into small groups and ran so that they were difficult to target. Nevertheless, while the first fusillade from the machine guns was ineffective due to the range, a second round of gunfire was able to kill "a number" of birds. Later the same day a small flock was encountered, and "perhaps a dozen" birds were killed.
The next significant event was on 4 November. Meredith had established an ambush near a local dam, and more than 1,000 emus were spotted heading towards their position. This time, the gunners waited until the birds were in close proximity before opening fire. The gun jammed after only 12 birds were killed, and the remainder scattered before any more could be shot. No more birds were sighted that day.
In the days that followed, Meredith chose to move further south, where the birds were "reported to be fairly tame", but there was only limited success despite his efforts. By the fourth day of the campaign, army observers noted that "each pack seems to have its own leader now—a big black-plumed bird which stands fully six feet [1.8 m] high and keeps watch while his mates carry out their work of destruction and warns them of our approach". At one stage, Meredith even went so far as to mount one of the guns on a truck, a move that proved to be ineffective, as the truck was unable to gain on the birds, and the ride was so rough that the gunner was unable to fire any shots. By 8 November, six days after the first engagement, 2,500 rounds of ammunition had been fired. The number of birds killed is uncertain: one account estimates that it was 50 birds, but other accounts range from 200 to 500, the latter figure being provided by the settlers. Meredith's official report noted that his men had suffered no casualties, except for their dignity.
Summarising the culls, ornithologist Dominic Serventy commented:
The machine-gunners' dreams of point-blank fire into serried masses of Emus were soon dissipated. The Emu command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics, and its unwieldy army soon split up into innumerable small units that made use of the military equipment uneconomic. A crestfallen field force therefore withdrew from the combat area after about a month.
On 8 November, members in the Australian House of Representatives discussed the operation. Following the negative coverage of the events in the local media, which included claims that "only a few" emus had died, Pearce withdrew the military personnel and the guns on 8 November.
After the withdrawal, Major Meredith compared the emus to Zulus and commented on the striking manoeuvrability of the emus, even while badly wounded.
If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds, it would face any army in the world ... They can face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks. They are like Zulus whom even dum-dum bullets could not stop.
Second attempt
In November 1932, during parliamentary question time, Prime Minister Joseph Lyons (pictured) was mockingly asked by Lang Labor MP Rowley James whether a medal would be struck for the soldiers.
After the withdrawal of the military, the emu attacks on crops continued. Farmers again asked for support, citing the hot weather and drought that brought emus invading farms in the thousands. James Mitchell, the Premier of Western Australia, lent his strong support for the renewal of military assistance. At the same time, a report from the Base Commander was issued that indicated 300 emus had been killed in the initial operation.
Acting on the requests and the Base Commander's report, by 12 November the Minister of Defence approved a resumption of military efforts. He defended the decision in the Senate, explaining why the soldiers were necessary to combat the serious agricultural threat of the large emu population. Although the military had agreed to lend the guns to the Western Australian government on the expectation that they would provide the necessary people, Meredith was once again placed in the field due to an apparent lack of experienced machine gunners in the state.
Taking to the field on 13 November 1932, the military found a degree of success over the first two days, with approximately 40 emus killed. The third day, 15 November, proved to be far less successful, but by 2 December, the soldiers were killing approximately 100 emus per week. Meredith was recalled on 10 December, and in his report, he claimed 986 confirmed kills with 9,860 rounds, at a rate of exactly 10 rounds per confirmed kill. In addition, Meredith claimed exactly 2,500 wounded birds had also died from their injuries. Historian Greg Beyer wrote, "This figure, however, is highly disputed and is likely to be very inflated."
In assessing the success of the cull, an article in the Coolgardie Miner on 23 August 1935 reported that although the use of machine guns had been "criticised in many quarters, the method proved effective and saved what remained of the wheat".
Aftermath
Emu War
Despite the problems encountered with the cull, the farmers of the region once again requested military assistance in 1934, 1943, and 1948, but were turned down by the government. Instead, the bounty system that had been instigated in 1923 was continued, and this proved to be effective: 57,034 bounties were claimed over a six-month period in 1934.
By December 1932, word of the Emu War had spread, reaching the United Kingdom. Some conservationists there protested the cull as "extermination of the rare emu". Dominic Serventy and Hubert Whittell, the eminent Australian ornithologists, described the "war" as "an attempt at the mass destruction of the birds".
Throughout 1930 and onward, exclusion barrier fencing became a popular means of keeping emus out of agricultural areas (in addition to other vermin, such as dingoes and rabbits).
In November 1950, Hugh Leslie raised the issues of emus in federal parliament and urged Army Minister Josiah Francis to release a quantity of .303 ammunition from the army for the use of farmers. The minister approved the release of 500,000 rounds of ammunition.
Legacy
Emu War
An action-comedy film, titled The Emu War, premiered at Monster Fest on 22 October 2023. Another action-comedy movie retelling of the events called The Great Emu War, written by John Cleese, Monty Franklin, Rob Schneider, Camilla Cleese, and Jim Jefferies, was aiming to begin production in 2023 or 2024.