From the sun-baked wheatfields of Western Australia in late 1932 came one of history’s most absurd conflicts: the Great Emu War. As drought, Depression-era economics and tens of thousands of emus colliding with farmer livelihoods set the stage, the result was neither pretty nor expected — but it remains unforgettable.
Setting the Scene
After World War I, many returned veterans were allocated farmland in places like Campion district, Western Australia. These soldier-settlers struggled with marginal land and plummeting wheat prices during the Great Depression. At the same time, roughly 20,000 emus migrated into these agricultural areas, drawn by food, water, and the cleared terrain. The birds ruined fences, trampled crops, devoured seedlings — their mass movement threatening the economic survival of these farms.
Farmers, largely without the means to stop the damage, petitioned the government. In response, the Federal Defence Minister approved military assistance. Soldiers would be deployed to assist with “culling” the emus, using machine guns to protect crops.
The “War” Begins
On 2 November 1932, a small contingent of the Royal Australian Artillery — three men under Major G.P.W. Meredith — arrived in Campion armed with two Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Their goal: reduce the emu numbers enough to protect wheat fields.
What followed was, for the military, an exercise in frustration. Emus, though large and flightless, turned out to be astoundingly fast (speeds up to ~48 km/h or more), highly mobile, and able to scatter into small groups that made them very difficult targets. When soldiers tried chasing them in trucks, the rough terrain made aiming ineffective. Guns jammed. Birds would be hit, seemingly injured, yet still manage to run off, often dying later or not at all.
Read: How One Island Became the Graveyard for the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird?
In an early ambush near a dam, thousands of emus were said to be in motion; soldiers waited for them, opened fire at close range — only to be foiled by gun jams.
A Quirky “Conflict” and Its Outcome
Over several weeks the campaign oscillated between effort and mockery. Initial operations killed small numbers of birds at high cost in ammunition. Though a follow-up in mid-November produced more “success” (hundreds of kills per week), it was nowhere near enough to stop crop losses. The ratio of rounds fired to emus killed remained extremely high — sometimes ten bullets or more per confirmed kill.
By 10 December 1932, Major Meredith was recalled, the military phase was ended. Official counts claimed 986 emus confirmed killed, with perhaps thousands more wounded (many later dying), but the damage to many farms persisted.
Aftermath: Strategy Shift & Lessons Learned
The Emu War’s “victory” was essentially claimed by the birds. The government withdrew troops, switching instead to less spectacular but more practical measures: bounty systems (paying locals for dead emus) and building and improving fences across farmlands to deter incursions. These proved more cost-effective and sustainable.
Politically and socially, the conflict became a source of national embarrassment, a humorous anecdote, and later a cautionary tale about using heavy military force for wildlife control. It exposed underestimation of animal behavior, overconfidence in technology, and lack of adaptability in harsh, rugged terrain.
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