Trail Off Tuesdays: The Great Emu War

Ever wondered what happens when a modern military faces off against birds? The Great Emu War of 1932 stands as one of history's most bizarre military campaigns, where Australia's government deployed soldiers with machine guns against 20,000 emus devastating wheat crops in Western Australia.

The true solution came years later with the extension of the "emu fence"—a barrier stretching thousands of kilometres across Western Australia. 

The Great Emu War now lives on as beloved Australian folklore, a reminder that sometimes nature simply refuses to cooperate with even our most determined efforts.

 Follow Clue Trail for more strange-but-true stories from history's oddest corners, and share your own bizarre historical discoveries with us—your suggestion might become our next episode!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Great Emu War
• 1:29 Farmers vs. 20,000 Emus
• 3:00 Defeated by Feathered Ninjas
• 4:47 The Fence Solution
• 7:20 Thank you for listening

Transcript

Host: 0:19

Welcome back to the Trail Off Tuesdays, where we take a short detour into the oddest corners of history. Strange stories, real people and things that make you say that can't be true, but it is. Today's episode takes us to one of my favourite places, Australia. The year is 1932, and the government is struggling with an unexpected problem giant birds, and not just a few, but thousands of them, but thousands of them. What followed was a military operation, actual soldiers with machine guns and a war that, unbelievably, the birds won. This is the Great Emu War In Western Australia.

Host: 1:36

After World War I, veterans were given farmland to help them resettle. This sounded like a great idea to begin with, but the land was very hard to work. By the early 1930s, those farmers were struggling. Drought, poor soil condition, economic hardship from the Great Depression and then, to top it off, a sudden invasion Around 20,000 emus migrating inland after breeding season, storm through the region in search to settle in the delicious wheat crops. The birds trampled crops, knocked down fences and proved unstoppable. Farmers couldn't even scare them off, so, left with no other option, they asked the government for help. And what did the government do? Well, they went from zero to a hundred really quick, and instead of looking for more reasonable options, to begin with they sent soldiers With machine guns.

Host: 3:03

In November 1932, the Australian government launched a mission led by Major Meredith. He and two soldiers headed into the bush with two machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Their objective was simple. Kill enough emus to drive them away to protect the wheat farms. Simple plan in theory. How hard could it be right? Very hard, it seemed, as the emus weren't having it.

Host: 3:37

These birds were fast, agile and they always travelled in unpredictable groups. The soldiers couldn't get a clean shot. On their first attempt. A flock scattered before the gun could even fire. Another time, they arranged an ambush at the dam, but fewer than a dozen birds were killed and about a thousand fled. Even mounting a gun on a truck didn't help. The terrain was too rough and the birds outran the vehicle Because, you see, emus aren't just big, goofy birds.

Host: 4:18

These fightless giants can run up to 50 kilometers an hour, pivot on a dime and travel in unpredictable, scattered groups. That makes them impossible to corner. Combine that with their sharper vision and instinct to flee rather than fight, and you've got a bird that's built to dodge danger. It was like fighting a bunch of feathered ninjas. It was like fighting a bunch of feathered ninjas. So who won in the end? Well, it wasn't the humans.

Host: 5:01

After about a month the mission was quietly called off. Out of the tens of thousands of emus, fewer than 1,000 have been killed. The rest had simply outmaneuvered the military again and again. Major Meredith reportedly said If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds you would face any army in the world. The soldiers even began to credit the enemy with unmatched skills. They reported that the emus appeared to have picked pack leaders to stand watch, aiding in their escape. Newspapers mocked the effort. The emails had quite literally outgunned the Australian army.

Host: 5:52

The government never launched another military bird campaign. Instead, they provided the farmers with ammunition to take care of the problem themselves, to take care of the problem themselves, which still didn't help much. So after all these efforts proved useless, the Australian government turned into a more passive but more effective and very expensive solution. Fences by 1953 they have extended what became known as the emu fence, which was a section of the larger rabbit-proof fence system stretching thousands of kilometres across Western Australia. Its purpose To keep the emus and other pests from migrating into farmland during the breeding season. Unlike machine guns and endless ammo. The fence didn't jam or mess and moths didn't stop every single bird. It definitely helped reduce the destruction of crops and gave the farmers a chance to breathe us a chance to breathe.

Host: 7:09

But the Emu war became a legend. A national embarrassment turned into a surreal moment in history and now a favourite bit of pub trivia, memes and podcasts everywhere. So next time someone asks who's the most undefeated army in history? Just remember the emus of Western Australia. Thanks for straying off the main trail with me today. Trail Off Tuesdays Return next week with another short and strange story you won't believe is real. Make sure you're following Clue Trail. Leave a quick review if you enjoyed this one and send us your favourite bizarre cases. We might just feature yours next. See you next week, thank you.