Emu War
The "Emu War" was a nuisance wildlife management operation[1] undertaken in Australia over the latter part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus said to be running amok in the Campion district of Western Australia. The attempts to curb the large emu population used soldiers armed with machine guns, leading the media to adopt the satirical name "Emu War" when referring to the incident.[2]
Background
In late 1932 Western Australia was affected by a drought, leading to shortages of food and water. As many as twenty thousand emus,[3] faced with these deficits, began to foray into farm territory, consuming and spoiling crops. They also left large gaps in fences through which rabbits could enter and cause further problems.[2]
Farmers had relayed concerns about the birds ravaging their crops, and Minister of Defence Sir George Pearce, in cooperation with the state government of Western Australia, authorised the use of military personnel.[1]
The "War"
Military involvement had begun by October.[1] The "war" was conducted under the command of Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery,[4] with Meredith commanding a pair of soldiers armed with two Lewis Guns[5] and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.[6] Local settlers drove the emus into an ambush, but the birds instead split into small parties zigzagging across the land.[6]
Early in the campaign, a period of rainfall caused the emus to scatter over a wider area. Despite this, settlers asked that the soldiers maintain their efforts, and the soldiers were not recalled at this point.[1]
Summarizing the initial culls, ornithologist Dominic Serventy commented:[7]
The machine-gunners' dreams of point blank fire into serried masses of Emus were soon dissipated. The Emu command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics, and its 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.
On November 8th, representatives in the Australian House of Representatives mentioned a November 4th planned ploy to trap a thousand birds at a watering hole that resulted in only twelve deaths and another instance where the Army had managed to kill fifty birds on the two days later but using over 2,500 rounds.[6]
Following the negative coverage of the events in the local media,[8] which included claims that "only a few" Emus had died,[2] Pearce withdrew the military personnel and the guns on November 8th.[6][2][9][10]
Aftermath
After 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, the Premier of Western Australia lent his strong support to renewal of the military action. Additionally, a report from the Base Commander indicated that 300 emus had been killed in the initial operation.[10]
Acting on the requests and the Base Commander's report, by 12 November the Minister of Defence approved the military party to resume their efforts.[10] He defended the decision in the senate, explaining why the soldiers were necessary to combat the serious agricultural threat of the large emu population.[2]
According to a newspaper account, upon this resumption Meredith received orders from military headquarters in Sydney to collect 100 emu skins so that their feathers could be used to make hats for light horsemen.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d "Rain Scatters Emus". The Argus. 18 October 1932. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e ""Emu War" defended". The Argus. 19 November 1932. p. 22.
- ^ Gill, Frank B. (2007). Ornithology (3rd ed.). Macmillan. p. xxvi. ISBN 0716749831, ISBN 9780716749837.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - ^ http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-7164453/Feathered-foes-soldier-settlers-and.html Excerpt from Feathered Foes
- ^ Arthur, Jay Mary (2003). The default country: a lexical cartography of twentieth-century Australia. UNSW Press. p. 123-124. ISBN 0868405426, ISBN 9780868405421.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - ^ a b c d Robin, Libby; Joseph, Leo; Heinshohn, Rob (2009). Boom and bust: bird stories for a dry country. CSIRO Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 064309606X, ISBN 9780643096066.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - ^ "casuariiform". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ^ "Elusive Emus". The Argus. 5 November 1932. p. 4.
- ^ "War on Emus". The Argus. 10 November 1932. p. 8.
- ^ a b c "Emu War Again". The Canberra Times. 12 November 1932. p. 1.
- ^ "Machine Guns Sent Against Emu Pests". The Argus. 3 November 1932. p. 2.
External links
- How we lost the "Emu War"
- Plants & Animals: Emu
- "Attack on Emus". The Argus. 12 November 1932.