In the autumn of 1932, the Australian military was deployed to fight an enemy unlike any it had faced before. It wasn't the Japanese. It wasn't the Germans. It was 20,000 emus. The Great Emu War — as it was later mockingly dubbed — was a real military operation. Soldiers from the Royal Australian Artillery, armed with two Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, were sent to the wheat fields of Western Australia to exterminate a vast migrating population of emus that were devastating the crops of struggling farmers. What followed was one of the most bizarre and farcical episodes in Australian history. The emus — large, flightless, fast, and surprisingly resilient — proved to be almost impossible to kill. They scattered at the first sound of gunfire. They absorbed bullets and kept running. They outmaneuvered the soldiers. After several weeks of "combat," the Australian military withdrew in defeat. The emus had won. The Great Emu War is often cited as one of the few times humans went to war against animals — and lost. It has become a legendary, if somewhat embarrassing, part of Australian folklore.
Summary: The Emu War was a military operation conducted by the Australian government in late 1932 to reduce the emu population in Western Australia. Emus — migrating from the arid interior to the coast — were destroying wheat crops in the Campion district. Veterans-turned-farmers requested government assistance. Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery, with two soldiers and two Lewis machine guns, was deployed. The operation began on November 2, 1932. After engaging about 20,000 emus over several weeks, the soldiers had killed only an estimated 986 birds. The operation was abandoned by December 10. The "war" was widely mocked in the Australian press. Subsequent requests for military assistance against emus were denied, and bounty systems were used instead.
🦘 The Emu Problem: 20,000 Birds in the Wheat Fields
After World War I, the Australian government gave land in Western Australia to returning veterans to farm. The wheat fields were marginal at best. Then came the Great Depression, dropping wheat prices, and a long drought. And then came the emus. In 1932, an estimated 20,000 emus — migrating from the dry interior toward the coast — arrived in the Campion district of Western Australia. They found the newly irrigated wheat fields. The emus, large and strong, trampled crops, knocked down fences, and ate everything. For the struggling veteran farmers, it was a catastrophe. Desperate, they appealed to the government for assistance. The government's response was not a wildlife management program. It was the military.
⚔️ The Battle: Machine Guns vs. Emus
Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery was given command of the operation. His force: two soldiers — Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O'Halloran — and two Lewis machine guns, mounted on a truck. 10,000 rounds of ammunition were allocated. The first engagement took place on November 2, 1932, near the town of Campion. The soldiers spotted about 50 emus. The emus — quickly scattering into smaller groups — proved impossible targets. When the soldiers opened fire, the emus ran at speeds up to 50 km/h, dodging left and right. The Lewis guns were mounted on a truck, but the emus easily outran the vehicle over rough terrain. One attempt involved mounting a machine gun on a truck and chasing the birds — a "drive-by" that was almost entirely ineffective. Meredith himself admitted: "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." After the first week, only a few hundred emus had been killed. The operation was suspended on November 8 due to bad press. But farmers continued to plead for help, and a second deployment resumed on November 13. This time, the soldiers were more effective — but still far from successful. By December 10, the military withdrew. The final count: 986 emus killed, using 9,860 rounds of ammunition — roughly 10 bullets per confirmed kill (and many wounded emus escaped to die elsewhere).
"If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds, it would face any army in the world."
📰 The Mockery: The Press Reacts
The Australian press had a field day. Headlines called it "The Emu War" and mocked the military's inability to defeat a flock of birds. The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament quipped that the emu should be awarded a bravery medal for "gallantly facing machine-gun fire." The ornithologist Dominic Serventy — observing the campaign — wrote sardonically: "The machine-gunners' dreams of point-blank fire into serried masses of emus were soon dissipated. The emu command had evidently ordered guerilla tactics, and its unwieldy army soon split up into innumerable small units that made use of the military equipment uneconomic." Meredith himself was later quoted as saying that the emus were "invincible" — though this was likely an exaggeration.
🥇 Aftermath: The Victory of the Emus
The Emu War was, in the end, a failure. The military withdrew. The emus continued to devastate crops. In the following years, farmers asked repeatedly for military assistance — requests that were denied. The government eventually introduced a bounty system, paying farmers for each emu killed. In 1934 alone, 57,034 emus were killed under the bounty. Fencing proved to be the most effective long-term solution: a 1,170-kilometer barrier fence — the State Barrier Fence of Western Australia — was built to keep the emus out of agricultural areas. The Great Emu War has become a legendary, comical piece of Australian history. It is frequently cited in popular culture as the absurdist symbol of humans vs. nature — a reminder that sometimes, nature wins. The emu, along with the kangaroo, stands proudly on the Australian coat of arms — which has prompted jokes that Australia is the only country to have a coat of arms featuring animals that have defeated its army.
The Birds
"The Emu War was not a war. It was a farce. But it was a real military operation, with real machine guns, against real, living creatures. The emus were not evil. They were hungry. They were doing what emus do: migrating, eating, surviving. The farmers were desperate. The soldiers were probably bemused. The press was delighted. The Great Emu War is a story about the limits of military force, the absurdity of state intervention, and the resilience of the natural world. The emus — 2 meters tall, 50 kilograms, thick feathers that absorb bullets like armor — proved harder to kill than anyone expected. They did not win because they fought back. They won because they refused to die. Sometimes, survival is victory."
🤔 Frequently Asked Questions
1) Was the Emu War a real war? It was a real military operation — but "war" is an ironic label. It involved the Australian Army using machine guns against emus.
2) Did the emus really "win"? The operation failed to significantly reduce the emu population. The military withdrew. The emus continued. So, yes — the emus won.
3) How did the emus survive machine gun fire? Emus are fast, scatter quickly, and their thick feathers and tough bodies can absorb bullets that would kill smaller animals.
4) Would the Emu War happen today? No — modern wildlife management uses non-lethal methods, fencing, and culling by professional hunters, not the military.