A flock of 20,000 hungry emus
WA, 1932
photo credit: Footnoting History
Australian emus had been a protected native species up until 1922 when they started to destroyed the fences around wheat farms and ate or trampled the wheat. Thus they were officially reclassified as vermin. In summer 1932, a flock of 20,000 6’, hungry birds migrated from the coastal regions to inland regions, looking for food and to breed. By late 1932, they were wreaking havoc on the marginal wheat farms owned by the ex-servicemen.
A group of local ex-soldiers were sent to speak with the Minister of Defence. These farmers had no access to the necessary ammunition, so they called on the Australian military to act and soldiers were sent to the region with machine guns!! Being ex-military, the farmers were very aware of how effective machine guns would be.
Led by Major GPW Meredith, 7th Battery of Royal Australian Artillery, the army set out in Nov 1932, certain to gun down birds in one district. The soldiers moved in formation behind the birds, and the birds immediately scattered in all directions - emus cannot fly but they can run VERY quickly. 2 days later, hidden gunners sighted 1,000 emus nearby and waited patiently for them to arrive. The soldiers open fired at short range, killing 10-12 emus, while the others re-scattered. The media noted: Each emu mob has its leader, always an enormous black-plumed bird standing fully 6’ high, who kept watch while his fellows busied themselves with the wheat. As soon as he gave the signal, the leader always remained until his followers reached safety.
On 8th Nov 1932, it was reported that Maj Meredith’s party had used 2,500 rounds of ammunition (25% of the allotted total) to destroy 200 emus. The Australian House of Representatives discussed the military operation and following the humiliating negative coverage of the Emu War in the local media, the army withdrew the military personnel and machine guns! Instead the government decided to provide the ammunition that the locals needed to take care of the problem themselves, and 57,034 emus were killed over six months. The Journal of Australian Studies suggested it could have been a propaganda exercise to show that the government was supporting its struggling war heroes. But I would have been more worried about physically and psychiatrically damaged WW1 soldiers being given machine guns again ☹
Led by Major GPW Meredith, 7th Battery of Royal Australian Artillery, the army set out in Nov 1932, certain to gun down birds in one district. The soldiers moved in formation behind the birds, and the birds immediately scattered in all directions - emus cannot fly but they can run VERY quickly. 2 days later, hidden gunners sighted 1,000 emus nearby and waited patiently for them to arrive. The soldiers open fired at short range, killing 10-12 emus, while the others re-scattered. The media noted: Each emu mob has its leader, always an enormous black-plumed bird standing fully 6’ high, who kept watch while his fellows busied themselves with the wheat. As soon as he gave the signal, the leader always remained until his followers reached safety.
WW1 Lewis machine gun
used against the emus in W.A
credit: Wikimedia Commons
On 8th Nov 1932, it was reported that Maj Meredith’s party had used 2,500 rounds of ammunition (25% of the allotted total) to destroy 200 emus. The Australian House of Representatives discussed the military operation and following the humiliating negative coverage of the Emu War in the local media, the army withdrew the military personnel and machine guns! Instead the government decided to provide the ammunition that the locals needed to take care of the problem themselves, and 57,034 emus were killed over six months. The Journal of Australian Studies suggested it could have been a propaganda exercise to show that the government was supporting its struggling war heroes. But I would have been more worried about physically and psychiatrically damaged WW1 soldiers being given machine guns again ☹
Australian coat of arms
starring the kangaroo and the emu
The emu still takes its place of pride on the Australian coat of arms with our other native, the kangaroo, having had its status as a protected animal reinstated. The emu population across Australia is c600,000-700,000+, not in danger of dying out. But conservationists are working to save several specific populations greatly at risk, especially in NSW.
Emus are very large, flightless birds and the massive number of emus was causing concern to local farmers. I have no doubt that the Western Australian farmers were facing hard times with their crops following the Great Depression, and their difficulties greatly increased with the arrival of c20,000 emus migrating inland in their breeding season. But these birds are indigenous to Australia, protected and importantly symbolic. So the Great Emu War of Australia was both understandable and unforgivable! At least they could have given the emu meat, which is both healthy and tasty, to families starving during the Depression.
The birds still remain plentiful in the areas outside Perth, so in some sense the War was also futile. Conservationists were clearly unhappy and hoped that problematic wildlife management would never involve machine guns again! So I am pleased to note that, although in the following years farmers requested assistance from the army again, the government did refuse!
Emus are very large, flightless birds and the massive number of emus was causing concern to local farmers. I have no doubt that the Western Australian farmers were facing hard times with their crops following the Great Depression, and their difficulties greatly increased with the arrival of c20,000 emus migrating inland in their breeding season. But these birds are indigenous to Australia, protected and importantly symbolic. So the Great Emu War of Australia was both understandable and unforgivable! At least they could have given the emu meat, which is both healthy and tasty, to families starving during the Depression.
The birds still remain plentiful in the areas outside Perth, so in some sense the War was also futile. Conservationists were clearly unhappy and hoped that problematic wildlife management would never involve machine guns again! So I am pleased to note that, although in the following years farmers requested assistance from the army again, the government did refuse!
Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, 2010
Wikimedia Commons
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1 comment:
The so-called “Emu War” remains a striking episode in which economic desperation, flawed agricultural policy, and symbolic wildlife collided, exposing both the fragility of soldier-settlement schemes and the limits of militarised solutions to environmental problems.
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