The Time The Australian Army Fought A War Against Emus (And Lost)
Birds spotted…open fire!
Australia played a major role during World War I. Nearly half a million Australians served in the military during the conflict, with 334,000 serving overseas, largely in Europe. After the war ended, thousands of veterans steamed home back to Australia. The government decided to embark on a program that entitled certain veterans to free land in empty regions of Western Australia. The government wanted the soldiers to turn the arid, empty countryside into a new agricultural region capable of feeding more Australians.
The program was initially successful, with thousands of homesteaders relocating to southwestern Australia to start growing staple crops like wheat. Unfortunately, not all of the land was great for farming. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, it put a lot of Australian farmers at risk. The price of wheat tanked, and the livelihood of these men was hanging by a thread.
And then the emus came.
A severe drought in inland Australia was driving the emus to greener and wetter pastures. And the farms of Western Australia fit the bill perfectly.
Emus are a natural part of the Australian countryside. Large groups of emus migrate from the interior of the country to the coasts after mating…
