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Australia really sent soldiers after emus

What happens when crop-destroying birds meet machine guns? In 1932, Australia tried to answer that with the Great Emu War, and the birds basically said “nice try.”[2][5]

  • Emus of War: When Australia Could Not Beat Birds
  • The Great Emu War of 1932: How 20,000 flightless birds outsmarted the Australian army
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The emu problem: about 20,000 emus moved into the Campion and Walgoolan wheat areas, trampling crops and punching holes in fences that kept out rabbits too.[2][4][9]

  • thousands of emus flocking at Western Australia’s ’rabbit-proof fence’
  • Emu’s winning the battle against the Australian army
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The military response: two Lewis guns, 10,000 rounds, and Major G. P. W. Meredith led three soldiers into the field in November 1932. Rain delayed the start, then the emus split into tiny groups and kept dodging the ambushes.[2][6][21]

  • Soldiers, very likely to be McMurray and Gunner J. O’Hallroan, with a Lewis Machine Gun during Emu War.
  • Gemini said A colorized historical photograph from the 1932 Great Emu War in Australia. Two men in brimmed hats stand in a tall wheat field; one man aims a heavy Lewis machine gun while the second man supports the barrel on his shoulder to act as a human tripod. The background is a pale, hazy sky over the rural landscape.
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The outcome: the first run was mocked as a flop, the troops withdrew on 8 November, then returned later and kept shooting through December. Meredith’s final tally claimed 986 confirmed kills with 9,860 rounds, but historians note the figure is disputed and likely inflated.[2][4][5][24]

  • The true story of the Emu War: When Australia lost a war against birds
  • Emu War - Wikipedia
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The lesson learned: machine guns were a terrible wildlife tool, while bounties and better fencing worked far better. The whole episode became a cautionary tale about underestimating animals, and somehow an icon of Australian trivia.[6][8][25][19]

  • Emu War meme
  • The Great Emu War: History’s Overlooked And Most Hilarious Conflict
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Sources used here: Wikipedia, History Hit, National Geographic, Discover Wildlife, The Collector, History Extra, The Hindu, The Science Survey, 1440 Review, History Skills, and Common Reader at WUSTL.[2][4][5][6][7][9][15][16][19][21][25]

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