The Great Emu War of 1932
I’m sure back in school you learned about all the important conflicts of the 20th Century: World War I and II, Vietnam, Korea. But did you ever hear tell of the Great Emu War of 1932?
It was the one and only time a standing army declared war on a bird … and then lost. The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is giant flightless bird from the ratite family; they’re the slightly smaller cousin of the Ostrich. They stand 1.5 metres tall, weigh 60Kg, and can run at a top speed of 50Km/h.
During the Great Depression 20,000 of these big birds were running amok in Western Australia’s pastoral lands, eating grain, destroying fences and generally being rude to farmers. A bad drought and driven the birds from the inland into agricultural areas. But the Australian graziers weren’t about to take that lying down. They formed a lobby and sent a petition to the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce, requesting him to break out the army and deploy machine guns against the pest. And Pearce thought, yes, that seems like a measured and reasonable response to the problem.
Major G. P. W. Meredith was given command of the operation, and armed with two Lewis Machine Guns, he made his way to Western Australia to show those Emu who was boss.
Things however did not go to plan. They attempted to ambush the first group of Emu they sighted, but the birds were too crafty. The flock scattered, running in different directions and the troops were unable to land a shot. Their second attempt also failed when their guns jammed.
By the fourth day of the operation, Meredith reported that the birds were now organised. He noticed that each group had a lead Emu, one six feet tall that would keep watch and warn their comrades if danger approached.
Meredith next tried to mount his guns to a jeep to purse the fleet footed birds. But even so, they were unable to keep pace with the Emu, and the terrain was so rough the gunners were unable to aim while in pursuit. The troops were eventually forced to retreat in shame, having only managed to officially kill ‘a number’ of birds.
Meredith later reported,
“If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds it would face any army in the world.”
The solider were to return to the field later that year. This time they enjoyed more success and managed to take down about 1,000 birds. However, when it came out that it had taken over 10,000 rounds to knock out such a small number, and with huge flocks still causing havoc in the farmlands, the Opposition in Parliament declared the Emus the victors and suggested medals be handed out to the birds.
And you know what? I agree. Viva the bird revolution. Go forth you majestic bird army, go forth and conquer.
The Emu plague was eventually solved when the farmers started using better fences. I feel there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
Reference
5 July 1953, New Strategy In a War on the Emu
19 November 1932, Emu War Defended
Emu War — Wikipedia
