Image Source: www.stellarhistory.com/the-great-emu-war
THE DAILY NEWS RECAPS END OF WAR
“After a short, sharp campaign the military operations against the emu tribes have ceased with dramatic suddenness and for the time being all is quiet on the Campion front. The White High Command which had been sparring for time while putting the finishing touches to the plans for the great offensive, is clearly bamboozled by the quick turn of events and after the fashion of High Commands is uncommunicative to the correspondents on the spot.
Gossip which has trickled through from the Chancellory at Canberra, however, suggests that the statesmen of the supporting Power suddenly awakened to certain political and financial implications of the situation and decided that it was not going to be trapped into another long war. The position, however, is indefinite.
No treaty of peace has been concluded and the emus remain in possession of disputed territory. It is therefore expected that regular military operations will be followed by guerilla warfare, which may continue for years and may be accompanied by stories of horrible atrocities.
The emu commander is maintaining a studied silence as to his future plans, but it is understood that he is much impressed with the capacity for resistance shown by raw troops and confident that they will continue to uphold the best traditions of the race. He is credited with the intention to arrange for a suitable poem to commemorate the emu glory on the field of Campion.” The Daily News Nov.9, 1932 -
Source: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/TheEmuWar
Unfortunately, the end was short lived, and the conflict resumed. One might say that Australia is renowned for its wildlife efforts, but particularly for those that did not go as planned, such as intentionally introducing damaging invasive species. During this endeavor in 1932, the Australian military undertook an operation to subdue the Emus…and they lost.
THE ENEMY EMU
The emu is a tall, flightless bird native to Australia. It is the tallest avian in Australia, and third-tallest living bird after its African relatives, the common ostrich and the Somnali ostrich. The bird has soft, shaggy grey-brown and black plumage, a long neck, and long legs, and can grow to a height of 6 feet 3 inches.
▼ Image Source: www.australianmuseum.com
“After a short, sharp campaign the military operations against the emu tribes have ceased with dramatic suddenness and for the time being all is quiet on the Campion front. The White High Command which had been sparring for time while putting the finishing touches to the plans for the great offensive, is clearly bamboozled by the quick turn of events and after the fashion of High Commands is uncommunicative to the correspondents on the spot.
Gossip which has trickled through from the Chancellory at Canberra, however, suggests that the statesmen of the supporting Power suddenly awakened to certain political and financial implications of the situation and decided that it was not going to be trapped into another long war. The position, however, is indefinite.
No treaty of peace has been concluded and the emus remain in possession of disputed territory. It is therefore expected that regular military operations will be followed by guerilla warfare, which may continue for years and may be accompanied by stories of horrible atrocities.
The emu commander is maintaining a studied silence as to his future plans, but it is understood that he is much impressed with the capacity for resistance shown by raw troops and confident that they will continue to uphold the best traditions of the race. He is credited with the intention to arrange for a suitable poem to commemorate the emu glory on the field of Campion.” The Daily News Nov.9, 1932 -
Source: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/TheEmuWar
Unfortunately, the end was short lived, and the conflict resumed. One might say that Australia is renowned for its wildlife efforts, but particularly for those that did not go as planned, such as intentionally introducing damaging invasive species. During this endeavor in 1932, the Australian military undertook an operation to subdue the Emus…and they lost.
THE ENEMY EMU
The emu is a tall, flightless bird native to Australia. It is the tallest avian in Australia, and third-tallest living bird after its African relatives, the common ostrich and the Somnali ostrich. The bird has soft, shaggy grey-brown and black plumage, a long neck, and long legs, and can grow to a height of 6 feet 3 inches.
▼ Image Source: www.australianmuseum.com
Being a robust bipedal runner, an emu can travel great distances and, when necessary, can sprint at 30 miles per hour. It forages on a variety of plants, insects, and small animals, and can go for weeks without eating. It drinks infrequently, but takes in copious amounts of fresh water when the opportunity arises. The emus’ native ranges cover most of the Australian mainland. And therein lies the problem.
WHERE AND HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The Great Emu War took place in the Campion district within the wheat belt of southwestern Australia. You can barely see the blue dot on the map in the lower left portion of the red.
WHERE AND HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The Great Emu War took place in the Campion district within the wheat belt of southwestern Australia. You can barely see the blue dot on the map in the lower left portion of the red.
The Australian wheat belt extends to the north, east and south of Perth and was a diverse ecosystem prior to its clearing in the late 19th century. The introduction of large-scale wheat disrupted the delicate balance of the local ecosystem, creating new opportunities for species like the emu to thrive while also making them into pests from the perspective of the farmers. Location map of the war ►
Image Source: www.utube.com
From the time the settlers there began to clear the land to grow wheat, their practices have impinged on the Emu population for whom the cultivated land, supplied with extra water for Iivestock, resembled the emus’ preferred habitat of open plains.
Image Source: www.utube.com
From the time the settlers there began to clear the land to grow wheat, their practices have impinged on the Emu population for whom the cultivated land, supplied with extra water for Iivestock, resembled the emus’ preferred habitat of open plains.
By 1930, many former WWI soldiers had settled in the district to farm, enticed by offered government subsidies. But falling wheat prices in the early 1930s and undelivered government promises had made farming difficult.
In 1932 the ongoing conflict with the emus to keep them out of the wheat fields escalated when the Campion district experienced an exceptionally large migration of birds. Farmers complained loudly to the government that the emu incursions trampled the crops and damaged the fences erected to prevent rabbits. Farmers had to keep watch day and night, and other lost their entire 3,000 acre crops. They tried lighting fires along the perimeters of fields and erecting tall fences which the emus merely walked around. Nothing seemed to slow the birds down.
They wanted action and appealed to the government for help. Given that many settlers were military veterans, they were aware of the capacity of machine guns for sustained fire, and that is what they requested. Minister of Defense, Sir George Pearce, agreed, and ordered the army to cull the emu population.
“The ‘Emu War’ proper began in November 1932. Deployed to the combat zone, such as it was, were two soldiers, Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O’Halloran, and their commander, Major G. P. W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery. They were equipped with two Lewis light machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Their objective was the mass extermination of a native species.” https://www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
In 1932 the ongoing conflict with the emus to keep them out of the wheat fields escalated when the Campion district experienced an exceptionally large migration of birds. Farmers complained loudly to the government that the emu incursions trampled the crops and damaged the fences erected to prevent rabbits. Farmers had to keep watch day and night, and other lost their entire 3,000 acre crops. They tried lighting fires along the perimeters of fields and erecting tall fences which the emus merely walked around. Nothing seemed to slow the birds down.
They wanted action and appealed to the government for help. Given that many settlers were military veterans, they were aware of the capacity of machine guns for sustained fire, and that is what they requested. Minister of Defense, Sir George Pearce, agreed, and ordered the army to cull the emu population.
“The ‘Emu War’ proper began in November 1932. Deployed to the combat zone, such as it was, were two soldiers, Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O’Halloran, and their commander, Major G. P. W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery. They were equipped with two Lewis light machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Their objective was the mass extermination of a native species.” https://www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
◄ Image Credit: Historic Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Image Source:www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
The emus successfully evaded the firepower, so an ambush was planned. Locals tried to herd emus towards the appointed trap, but they split into small groups and got away. During another try, about 1,000 birds escaped due to a gun jamming.
Having decided to travel to the places where emus were spotted, Major Meredith mounted one of the guns on a truck so they could shoot the birds while they were running away. That ploy proved as unsuccessful as the ambushes. The truck was too slow and the ride so rough the gunner couldn’t fire. After a week of action, only 50 to 100 birds had been killed.
Image Source:www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
The emus successfully evaded the firepower, so an ambush was planned. Locals tried to herd emus towards the appointed trap, but they split into small groups and got away. During another try, about 1,000 birds escaped due to a gun jamming.
Having decided to travel to the places where emus were spotted, Major Meredith mounted one of the guns on a truck so they could shoot the birds while they were running away. That ploy proved as unsuccessful as the ambushes. The truck was too slow and the ride so rough the gunner couldn’t fire. After a week of action, only 50 to 100 birds had been killed.
 | Major Meredith is quoted as saying about the campaign, “If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds it would face any army in the world. They face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks.” |  |
▲ An Australian soldier holds one of the few fatalities ▲ Image Source: youtube.com
Image Credit: FLHC 4 / Alamy Stock Photo
Image Credit: FLHC 4 / Alamy Stock Photo
A red-faced Minister Sir George Pearce withdrew the troops from the front line, but reinstated the conflict by sending them back when the farmers reported more birds had been eliminated than previously reported. For the next month about 100 emus were shot every week, but at a huge cost in ammunition; 100 rounds per kill.
“The operation may have saved some wheat, but the effectiveness of the cull paled next to the strategy of offering bounties to rifle-wielding farmers. By contrast, farmers managed to claim 57,034 bounties over six months in 1934.” en.wikipedia.org/emu_war
TAKE AWAY
The beleaguered campaign turned out to be a comedy of errors. Popular opinion was that the Emus had won the war, and the whole episode is written about as an amusing screw-up. The Sunday Herald reported in 1953, “the incongruity of the whole thing even had the effect, for once, of arousing public sympathy for the emu.”
However, the failure of the military campaign highlights the difficulty of controlling wildlife populations once they get out of balance and the incursion of human population into historic wildlife habitat areas, and raises ethical issues about animal control, culling, and the wholesale slaughter of native species.
Don’t mess with Mother Nature!
JUST SAYIN’
Sources:
https://historicsidenotes.com/20th-century-chaos/the-great-emu-war/
https://greatgameindia.com/great-emu-war/
https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/world/30-weirdest-historical-events-that-will-make-you-laugh/
https://www.historysnob.com/war-and-historical-events/20-lesserknown-historical-events-that-no-one-talks-about
https://www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emu_war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War
https://www.historytools.org/stories/the-great-emu-war-a-bizarre-chapter-in-australias-ecological-history
https://www.stellarhistory.com/the-great-emu-war
https://www.thecollector.com/great-emu-war/
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/TheEmuWar
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/emu-habitat-long-but-fact-filled-and-varied.738164/
“The operation may have saved some wheat, but the effectiveness of the cull paled next to the strategy of offering bounties to rifle-wielding farmers. By contrast, farmers managed to claim 57,034 bounties over six months in 1934.” en.wikipedia.org/emu_war
TAKE AWAY
The beleaguered campaign turned out to be a comedy of errors. Popular opinion was that the Emus had won the war, and the whole episode is written about as an amusing screw-up. The Sunday Herald reported in 1953, “the incongruity of the whole thing even had the effect, for once, of arousing public sympathy for the emu.”
However, the failure of the military campaign highlights the difficulty of controlling wildlife populations once they get out of balance and the incursion of human population into historic wildlife habitat areas, and raises ethical issues about animal control, culling, and the wholesale slaughter of native species.
Don’t mess with Mother Nature!
JUST SAYIN’
Sources:
https://historicsidenotes.com/20th-century-chaos/the-great-emu-war/
https://greatgameindia.com/great-emu-war/
https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/world/30-weirdest-historical-events-that-will-make-you-laugh/
https://www.historysnob.com/war-and-historical-events/20-lesserknown-historical-events-that-no-one-talks-about
https://www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emu_war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War
https://www.historytools.org/stories/the-great-emu-war-a-bizarre-chapter-in-australias-ecological-history
https://www.stellarhistory.com/the-great-emu-war
https://www.thecollector.com/great-emu-war/
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/TheEmuWar
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/emu-habitat-long-but-fact-filled-and-varied.738164/
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