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Date2 November – 10 December 1932LocationCampion district,Western AustraliaAlso known asGreat Emu WarParticipantsEmusSirGeorge PearceMajor G.P.W. MeredithRoyal Australian ArtilleryOutcomeSeeAftermathTheEmu War, also known as theGreat Emu War,[1]was anuisance wildlife managementoperation undertaken inAustraliaover the latter part of 1932 to address public concern over the number ofemussaid to be running amok in the Campion district ofWestern Australia. Theattempts to curb the population of emus, a large flightless bird indigenous to Australia, employed soldiers armed withmachine guns—leading the media to adopt the name "Emu War" when referring to the incident.BackgroundFollowingWorld War I, large numbers of ex-soldiers from Australia, along with a number of British veterans, took up farming within Western Australia, often in marginal areas. With the onset of theGreat Depressionin 1929, these farmers were encouraged to increase theirwheatcrops, with the government promising—and failing to deliver—assistance in the form ofsubsidies. In spite of the recommendations and the promised subsidies, wheat prices continued to fall, and by October 1932 matters were becoming intense, with the farmers preparing to harvest the season's crop while simultaneously threatening to refuseto load the wheat.[2]The difficulties facing farmers were increased by the arrival of as many as 20,000 emus.[3]Emus regularly migrateafter their breeding season, heading to thecoast from the inland regions. With the cleared land and additional water supplies being made available for livestock by the West Australian farmers, the emus found that the cultivated lands were good habitat, and they began to foray into farm territory—in particular the marginal farming land aroundChandlerandWalgoolan.[2]The emus consumed and spoiled the crops, as well as leaving large gaps in fences whererabbits could enter and cause further problems.[4]Farmers relayed their concerns about the birds ravaging their crops, and a deputation of ex-soldiers were sent to meet with theMinister of Defence, SirGeorge Pearce. Having served in WWI, the soldier-settlers were well aware of the effectiveness of machine guns, and they requested their deployment. The Minister readily agreed, although with conditions attached: the guns were to be used by military personnel, and troop transport was to be financed by the Western Australian government, and the farmers would provide food, accommodation, and payment for the ammunition.[2][5]Pearce also supported the deployment on the grounds that the birds would make good target practice,[6]although it has also been argued that some in the government may have viewed this as a way of being seen to be helping the Western Australian farmers, and towards that end aFox Movietonecinematographerwas enlisted.[2]The "War"Sir George Pearce, who ordered that the army cull the emu population. He was later referred to in Parliament as the "Minister of the Emu War" by SenatorJames Dunn.[7]Military involvement was due to begin in October 1932.[5]The "war" was conducted under the command of Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Seventh Heavy Battery of theRoyal Australian Artillery,[2][6]with Meredith commanding a pairof soldiers armed with twoLewis Automatic Machine Guns[8]and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.[6]The operation was delayed, however, by a period of rainfall which caused the emus to scatter over a wider area.[5]The rain ceased by 2 November 1932,[2][5]at which point the troops were deployed with ordersto assist the farmers and, according to a newspaper account, to collect 100 emu skins so that their feathers could be used to make hats forlight horsemen.[9]The first attemptOn 2 November the men traveled to Campion, where some 50 emus were sighted.[2]As the birds were out of range of the guns, the local settlers attempted to herd the emus into an ambush, but the birds split into small groups and ran so that they were difficult to target.[6]Nevertheless, while the firstfusillade from the machine guns was ineffective due to the range, a second round of gunfire was able to kill "a number" of birds. Later the same day a small flock was encountered, and "perhapsa dozen" birds were killed.[2]The next significant event was on 4 November. Meredith had established anambushnear a local dam, and over 1,000 emus were spotted heading towards their position. This time the gunners waited until the birds were at point blank range before opening fire. The gun jammed after only twelve birds were killed, however, andthe remainder scattered before more couldbe killed. No more birds were sighted that day.[2]In the days that followed Meredith chose to move further south where the birds were "reported to be fairly tame",[10]but there was only limited success in spite of his efforts.[2]At one stage Meredith even went so far as to mount one of the guns on a truck: a move that proved to be ineffective, as the truck was unable to gainon the birds, and the ride was so rough that the gunner was unable to fire any shots.[2]By 8 November, six days after the first engagement, 2,500 rounds of ammunition had been fired.[6]The number of birds killed is uncertain: one account claims just 50 birds,[6]but other accounts range from 200 to 500—the latter figure being provided by the settlers. Meredith's official report noted that his men had suffered no casualties.[2]Summarizing the culls, ornithologistDominic Serventycommented:Lewis automatic machine gunThe machine-gunners' dreams of point blank fire into serried masses of Emus were soon dissipated. The Emu command had evidentlyordered guerrilla tactics, andits 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 after about a month.[11]On 8 November, representatives in theAustralian House of Representativesdiscussed the operation.[6]Following thenegative coverage of the events in the local media,[12]which included claims that "only a few" emus had died,[4]Pearce withdrew the military personnel and the guns on 8 November.[4][6][13][14]After the withdrawal, Major Meredith compared the emus toZulus, and commented on the striking maneuverability of the emus, even while badly wounded.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. Theyare like Zulus whom evendum-dum bulletscould not stop.[15]The second attemptAfter the withdrawal of the military, the emu attacks on crops continued. Farmers again asked for support, citing the hot weather and drought that brought emus invading farms in the thousands.James Mitchell, thePremier of Western Australialent his strong support to renewal of the military assistance. Additionally, a report from the Base Commander indicated that 300 emus had been killed in the initial operation.[14]Acting on the requests and the Base Commander's report, by 12 November the Minister of Defence approved a resumptionof military efforts.[14]He defended the decision in the senate, explaining why the soldiers were necessary to combat the serious agricultural threat of the large emu population.[4]Although the military had agreed to loan the guns to Western Australian government on the expectation that they would provide the necessary people, Meredith was once againplaced in the field due to an apparent lackof experienced machine gunners in the state.[2]Taking to the field on 13 November 1932, the military found a degree of success overthe first two days, with approximately 40 emus killed. The third day, 15 November, proved to be far less successful, but by 2 December the guns were accounting for approximately 100 emus per week. Meredith was recalled on 10 December, and in his report he claimed 986 kills with9,860 rounds, at a rate of exactly 10 rounds per confirmed kill. In addition, Meredith claimed 2,500 wounded birds had died as a result of the injuries that they had sustained.[2]AftermathIn spite of the problems encountered with the cull, the farmers of the regi