FYI logo

AUSTRALIA AT WAR… with EMUS!

The story of the little known Emu War.

By Travis BerketaPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
Like
An artist's impression and probably a little exaggerated (Credit: https://ifunny.co)

Australia has been in its fair share of wars; from the Boer War in South Africa (1899 – 1902), the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900 – 1901) to the First World War (1914 – 1918) and Second World War (1939 – 1945). Then they moved on to the Korean War (1950 – 1953), the Vietnam War (1962 – 1975), the Gulf War (1990 – 1991), Iraq War (2003 – 2009) and are still present in Afghanistan, since 2001.

In all of these wars, soldiers have come home with tales of heroism and tragedy. Australian soldiers are and were some of the most impressive and courageous in battle. We celebrate ANZAC Day on the 25th April each year to remember our fallen soldiers and give thanks to those who gave their lives for Australia.

However, back in 1932, the Australian military engaged in one of its most fearsome battles against a formidable opponent that just would not fall to an artillery barrage – and it all happened on Australian soil.

Who were they battling?

If you guessed The Terminator, the answer is “no”. They were battling the might of the humble Australian flightless bird – the EMU… possibly an abbreviation for Elite Military Unit – but that’s a completely uneducated guess!

So, what’s the story…

By Sonder Quest on Unsplash

Well, it all began after the First World War when Australian soldiers returned and as a way to reintegrate them into society and possibly as a reward for their sacrifice, they were given vast amounts of farmland in the dusty arid regions of Western Australia. The land was not very good for growing much, but it appeared to be good for wheat crops, so the soldiers turned farmers made their living off the wheat crops.

However, in 1932 during the Great Depression, the Australian economy collapsed and unemployment reached 32%, which brought along its own hardships, and was then exacerbated by a mob of around 20,000 emus invading farms and eating the crops of wheat. So the farmers petitioned the Government to assist in getting rid of the feathered threats.

Credit: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56602/great-emu-war-1932

Now, for those that have never seen an emu (above), I should describe them for you: they stand at an average of 1.9 metres (6.2 feet) and weigh between 50 to 55 kilograms (110 to 121 pounds) – the females are usually around 5 kilograms (11 pounds) heavier than males. They have long necks that hold two fearsome looking eyes and a sharp looking beak. They have very strong legs that help them run at speeds of around 50 kilometres per hour (31 miles per hour). Their legs end in three toes on each foot, which house three extremely sharp claws that can cause a lot of damage when they decide to fight. And there’re no sweet sounding melodies from these birds, they grunt to communicate and puff out their feathers and hiss if they’re feeling threatened!

A Declaration of War

Sir George Pearce

Anyway, so we’re in 1932 and there are thousands of emus virtually taking over farms, and when the government was called upon, the then Western Australian Senator, Sir George Pearce, was asked to deal with the matter. Not knowing the exact comings and goings of what went on behind political doors back then, I can't tell you what was said, but I can tell you that Sir George Pearce was not only a senator, but also the Minister for Defence at the time – so he did what any good Defence Minister would do and decided to send in the troops.

Okay, I may have over-exaggerated there – he sent three soldiers equipped with two Lewis automatic machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition left over from WW1.

A soldier with a Lewis Automatic Machine Gun (Credit: https://www.militaryfactory.com)

In late October, 1932, under the command of Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Seventh Heavy Battery of the Royal Australian Artillery, Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O’Halloran ventured out to the red sands of Western Australia, to wage war on these flightless, feathered fowl. However, heavy rain had the emus scattering for shelter and as they were covering a greater area it would be harder for the soldiers to shoot them down, so they waited.

The First Battle

Map of Australia - Campion (Credit: https://oddfeed.net/australian-emu-war)

The rains had ceased on 2nd November and the soldiers were sent out to a place called Campion, as 50 emus had been sighted loitering around a farm. In order to get the emus in range, Major Meredith directed the locals to herd the emus towards the guns. However, the wily birds had split themselves up into smaller groups and raced away, rendering the heavy artillery fire ineffective due to the emus’ speed, dexterity and seeming invulnerability to bullets (well, it apparently took about ten bullets to take down one bird). By the end of that day, it is believed that only twelve emus lost their lives, while thousands more escaped to continue wreaking havoc and also, it appears, to talk tactics.

Guerrilla Warfare – Emu Style

Probably not a true rendition of what occurred (Credit: https://imgur.com/gallery/KCZgraA)

In the days that followed, the soldiers found the emus becoming more difficult targets, so much so that on 4th November, when Major Meredith had set up an ambush of almost 1,000 emus at a local dam, it is reported that they only killed twelve more. To be fair, even though Gunner O’Halloran had waited for the birds to come into range, his Lewis machine gun had jammed, allowing the majority of the birds to turn tail and run.

By the fourth day of the “war” a soldier reported on the enemy saying:

"Each pack seems to have its own leader now—a big black-plumed bird which stands fully six feet high and keeps watch while his mates carry out their work of destruction and warns them of our approach."

Major Meredith then decided that in order to keep up with these rapid running ratites, he would mount one of the Lewis machine guns (presumably the one that wasn’t jammed) onto a truck. With the added speed and manoeuvrability of a vehicle, the Major may have thought that the birds stood no chance; however he was wrong. When threatened, emus run in a zig-zag pattern, which they were more than likely doing with the bullets zipping around them. The rough terrain had the truck bouncing around, making it difficult for the gunner to aim, and it was also unable to keep up with the emus, who knew the terrain better than anybody. It is said that this attack ended when the truck ran into an emu, thereby rendering the vehicle useless.

This led ornithologist and conservationist, Dominic Serventy to comment:

“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.”

Ceasing Hostilities

On the 8th November, just six days in, the government met to discuss the “war” and the negative press it had been getting from the media, which believed that “only a few” emus had died. This led to Senator Pearce withdrawing the troops from the frontlines. Major Meredith likened the emus to the Zulu warriors of southern Africa, who had defeated the British army in the Battle of Isandlwana 50-years earlier.

“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.”

Then things get a little sketchy as, the military Base Commander reported that around 300 birds had been killed, which seemed to be a few more than had actually been reported on earlier.

A Second Tour of Duty

Credit: https://listverse.com/2017/03/12/10-crazy-facts-about-the-great-australian-emu-war

Although the military had pulled out of Western Australia, the emus didn’t get the memo, so they continued their ransacking of crops and attacks on farms. Once more the farmers called for assistance and, once more, Senator George Pearce was called upon to bring in the military. The then Premier of Western Australia, James Mitchell, voiced his support for military assistance and the report from the Base Commander claiming that 300 emus were killed in the first campaign, had Senator Pearce feeling that a second crack at the emus would prove to be successful.

So on the 12th November, 1932, he ordered Major Meredith out on a second tour of duty to reignite the “Emu War”. It was reported that around 40 emus were killed within the first couple of days, but then (supposedly once the emus figured they should get into battle-mode once again) the killings petered out once more. However, on 2nd December, it was reported that the soldiers were killing around 100 emus per week – which may or may not have been true; I guess you had to be there.

Ending the War

On the 10th December, 1932, Senator Pearce pulled out Major Meredith and his men for the last time, ending “The Great Emu War”. His report claimed that the military had successfully fired 9,860 rounds of ammunition killing 986 emus – as you can see (if you do the math), this means that Meredith surmised that they had used exactly 10 rounds for each emu kill – coincidence or was someone’s pants on fire? He also stated that 2,500 emus had died of their wounds, which he felt made the cull a success; although I doubt that he actually stuck around to count how many birds were on their deathbeds when he was pulled out. As for his own men – there were no casualties.

You’d think that it all ended there, but as with most sagas, it did not. Farmers continued to ask for support when emus returned to the crops and hindered farming operations once more in 1934, 1943 and 1948, but maybe the government had had enough of all the backlash and jokes made about being defeated by a mob of emus in “The Great Emu War”, so instead they continued with their bounty system that they had set up in 1923; which apparently claimed 57,034 emus over a six-month period in 1934.

Emus stopped by fencing (Credit: S. Otton)

Eventually they found that putting up exclusion barrier fencing worked a treat and throughout the 1930s and even now, farmers have been protecting their crops with a fence. How ingenious!

Historical
Like

About the Creator

Travis Berketa

I am a father. I am a teacher. I am a writer.

I love reading fictional stories and I love writing fictional stories.

I hope you enjoy my contribution to Vocal.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.