War is usually fought between nations, or ideologies, or conflicting armies. We study the World Wars, the Cold War, and civil wars. But history books often leave out the most bizarre conflict of the 20th century. In late 1932, the Australian government officially declared war on an enemy that had invaded Western Australia. The enemy had no guns. They had no tanks. They had no generals. They were birds. Specifically, 20,000 Emus. And the most embarrassing part? The birds won.
This is the true story of "The Great Emu War," a military operation that sounds like a joke but was absolutely real.
The Context: Why Fight Birds?
To understand why Australia declared war on birds, we have to look at the situation in 1932. The world was in the grip of the Great Depression. In Western Australia, many of the farmers were actually ex-soldiers—veterans from World War I who had been given land by the government to grow wheat. Life was hard. Wheat prices were crashing. And then, the migration started.
Emus are large, flightless birds native to Australia. They can grow up to 6 feet tall and run at speeds of 30 miles per hour. Being migratory animals, 20,000 of them decided that the cultivated wheat farms in the Campion district looked like a perfect "all-you-can-eat" buffet. They broke through fences, trampled crops, and ate the wheat meant for harvest. The farmers were desperate. Since they were ex-soldiers, they didn't ask the government for money. They asked for machine guns.
The Declaration of War
The Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce, agreed to help. He saw it as a good way for the soldiers to practice target shooting, and a good PR move to show the government was helping farmers. He deployed the Royal Australian Artillery. The "army" consisted of:
- Major G.P.W. Meredith (Commanding Officer).
- Two soldiers (Sergeant S. McMurray and Gunner J. O'Halloran).
- Two Lewis Automatic Machine Guns.
- 10,000 rounds of ammunition.
They expected it to be a massacre. They thought they would just line up, fire the machine guns, and solve the problem in a day. They were wrong.
The Battles: Man vs. Bird
November 2, 1932: The First Encounter The soldiers spotted a group of about 50 emus. As they moved into range, the birds spotted them. Emus, it turns out, are intelligent strategists. They didn't group together to be shot. They split into small groups and ran in every direction. The soldiers opened fire. But hitting a target moving at 30 mph over bumpy terrain is incredibly difficult. Result: Only a handful of birds were killed. The rest escaped.
November 4, 1932: The Ambush Major Meredith decided to change tactics. He set up an ambush near a local dam where over 1,000 emus were heading for water. He hid the machine guns and waited until the birds were at point-blank range. This was it. The perfect trap. The birds arrived. The soldiers opened fire. Twelve birds fell. And then... the gun jammed. By the time they cleared the jam, the remaining 988 emus had scattered into the bush. Result: Another failure.
The "Tank" Strategy
Frustrated by the speed of the birds, Major Meredith decided to mount one of the machine guns on a truck. He thought this would allow them to chase the emus and shoot them while driving. This was a disaster. The terrain was so rough that the truck bounced violently. The gunner couldn't aim. In fact, they were too busy holding on for dear life to shoot a single bullet. To make matters worse, an emu got tangled in the truck's steering wheel, causing the vehicle to crash into a fence.
The Enemy's Tactics
Major Meredith was genuinely impressed by his enemy. He later stated in a report that the emus had leaders. "Each pack has its own leader, 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." He also famously said: "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."
It turns out, emus have thick feathers and tough skin. Unless you hit them directly in the head or heart, they keep running. Many birds were hit with multiple bullets and just kept running as if nothing happened.
The Withdrawal and Defeat
By November 8, the operation was a PR nightmare. The press was laughing at the army. In Parliament, a representative asked, "Is there a medal for this war?" Another replied, "Yes, but they would have to give it to the Emus."
After firing over 2,500 rounds of ammunition, the confirmed number of dead emus was arguably less than 50 (some reports say up to 200, but still a tiny fraction of the 20,000). Sir George Pearce ordered the military to withdraw. The Emus remained. They continued to eat the crops. They had won.
The Aftermath
The farmers asked for the military to come back again later, but the government eventually realized that machine guns weren't the answer. Instead, they introduced a "bounty system." The government offered money to locals for every emu they hunted. This was much more effective. Within six months in 1934, over 57,000 bounties were claimed.
But the history books will always remember the Great Emu War of 1932. It stands as a hilarious reminder that nature is not easily conquered. Humans might have technology, tanks, and machine guns, but sometimes, a flightless bird with a small brain and strong legs is all it takes to defeat the Royal Artillery.
Further Reference & Sources
- National Archive:
National Archives of Australia - "The Emu War" Records - Historical Account: Johnson, Murray. (2006). Feathered foes: Soldier settlers and Western Australia's 'Emu War' of 1932. Journal of Australian Studies.
- News Archive: The Sunday Herald (Sydney), November 1932. New Strategy In A War On The Emu.
- Scientific American:
The Great Emu War: In which some large, flightless birds unwittingly foiled the Australian Army
📖 More Unsolved Mysteries? The Emu War was weird, but at least we know what happened. But no one knows what is written in this ancient book. 👉
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