1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frown and today 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: we have an episode that is right from the suggestion 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 1: boxes from the Twitter user Anti Purvis, who asked us 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: if we could please talk about the Emu War of um. 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: The reference that as one of the most bizarre wildlife 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: management stories I would like to just go ahead and 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: put out there. Yes, correct, that's that's completely accurate, um. 10 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:42,599 Speaker 1: But it's also a story that needs a little bit 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: of context. Uh. Yeah. After World War One, there were 12 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: a lot of soldiers in Australia, both Australian and British, 13 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: and they moved to rural parts of the country as 14 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: part of a rural settlement effort described as a state scheme. 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: This is in quotes a state scheme intended to turn 16 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: swords into plowshares by Murray Johnson in the Journal of 17 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: Australian Studies. So the government purchased about ninety thousand hectares 18 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: of land. Uh, and much of it was not actually 19 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: very good for farmland. There's there's a lot of land 20 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: in Australia but a lot of it does not work 21 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: for quote, conventional farming very well, and that puts a 22 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: high demand on the parts that are going to be 23 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: the best for farming. So a lot of the soldiers 24 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: wound up in more of the marginal areas that weren't 25 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: actually that great for farming. So they were already set 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,040 Speaker 1: up to have some challenges in their farming work. And 27 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: in particular in the Campion while Ghulan district, which is 28 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: northeast of Perth in Western Australia, the population was largely 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: soldier settlers, many of whom were growing wheat, and about 30 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: five thousand of them were trying their hand at agricultural 31 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: work as part of soldier settlement. Many hedge their bets 32 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: using their land for mixed farming, like they would try 33 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: to grow wheat and produce wool at the same time, 34 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: and when the price of one commodity went down sometimes 35 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: they could make up the difference with the other thing 36 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: that they were working on. So in spite of the 37 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: fact that this a lot of this was not really 38 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: prime farmland, through the nineteen twittings, things had gone pretty well. 39 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: They'd had several good seasons in a row, but by 40 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: the time the thirties rolled around, things started to go 41 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,960 Speaker 1: south a little bit. They were becoming a little strained. 42 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: Commodity prices were dropping, droughts had become really common. There 43 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: was a lot of problems, a lot of problems with 44 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: rabbit infestation, and even when things had been better, sometimes 45 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: there had already been problems with really hard frosts and 46 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: the rabbits. We will talk about the rabbits again in 47 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: a future episode, because there's a whole other story there. 48 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: And then, of course the Great Depression happened UH, and 49 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: the value for many of Australia's goods was really dropping 50 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: and the deficit was out of control. In a hurry, 51 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: the Australian government, which was under Prime Minister James Schooling 52 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: at the time, used the country's wheat farming as an 53 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: attempt to prevent the financial dis aster that was falling 54 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: upon all of them UH. And under the Grow More 55 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: Wheat campaign, the government had actually promised a price of 56 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: four shillings per bushel for wheat. The idea was that 57 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: the government could use wheat to offset the collapsing price 58 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: of other goods, and people were really tempted by this 59 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: idea of four shillings a bushel. Getting a guaranteed price 60 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: for something was great and unexpected. It was a better 61 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 1: price than they could really expect other places. But unfortunately, 62 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: after this deal had been promoted to everyone, the price 63 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: of wheat started collapsing too. And the price of wheat 64 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: had already declined just tremendously when the Wheat Marketing Bill, 65 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: which would have actually gotten the money that had been 66 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: promised to the farmers, was voted down in the Senate 67 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: on July. So people had been expecting that they could 68 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: grow all this wheat sell it guaranteed four shillings a bushel, 69 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: and then they funding essentially fell through when the bill 70 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: was voted down. It was a hugely important bill, especially 71 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: in Western Australia where these particular farmers were living. It 72 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: was so important that there were talks of Western Australian 73 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: secession from the rest of Australia as the debate was 74 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: going on. One of the people making this sort of 75 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: threat was Mr H. Gregory of West Australia in the 76 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: House of Representatives, who said that Western Australia was going 77 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: to have way more difficulty than any other Australian state 78 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: if the farmers didn't get their money for their wheat. 79 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: There were other initiatives attempted to try to make good 80 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: on the promise, either by Australia or by the individual states, 81 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: but they just could not get off the ground. Another 82 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: bill to pay three shillings per usual was passed, but 83 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: by then the situation was so dire and the country 84 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 1: was having so many fiscal issues that they didn't have 85 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: the money to actually pay it. It was just words 86 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: that the price of wheat kept falling during the depression. Uh, 87 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: the farmers were becoming angrier and angrier and more frustrated 88 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: because they were waiting for this higher price that the 89 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: government had promised them while watching the market price fall, 90 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: so they were losing the ability to cut their losses 91 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,799 Speaker 1: the longer they waited on the government to pay them. 92 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: At one point, they got so frustrated that they even 93 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: stopped loading their grain in an attempt to force the 94 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: government to pay up. It was sort of effectively the 95 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: same thing as going on strike, but that didn't work, 96 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: and finally the Wheat Bounty Act was passed on November 97 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: and that paid four and a halfpence per bushel on 98 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: all wheat marketed in two and other relief measures did follow. 99 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: These measures unfortunately did not offer that much actual relief um. 100 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: It's a little hard to compare because Australian money was 101 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: not on the decimal system at the time. Now Australian 102 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: money is on the dollar, but there are twenty shillings 103 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: in a pound and two forty pence in a pound, 104 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: so to drop from four shillings to four and a 105 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:00,040 Speaker 1: halfpence per bushel is incredible. That's a pretty significant it 106 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: um tank at. So that's the context. You have all 107 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: of these farmers who have been farming all of this wheat. 108 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: They're desperate to be able to sell their wheat for something. 109 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: All the government's efforts to be able to pay them 110 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: money have pretty much fallen through. They're they're now sort 111 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: of scraping together this tiny, tiny amount perbicial. This is 112 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: what's going on when just before the ninety two wheat 113 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,799 Speaker 1: harvest the EMUs came. So a little bit of background 114 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: in case you don't know what an email is, which 115 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: I found out some people I know who are smart 116 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: did not, so, so so that's where we're spelling this out. 117 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: That's surprising because we actually have EMUs in Georgia that 118 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: are places. It's apparently a very hospitable environment for them. 119 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: So it's a large ostrich like flightless bird that's native 120 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,119 Speaker 1: to Australia. It's about one and a half meters, which 121 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: is five feet tall and a hundred pounds, so a 122 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: big flightless bird. UH. Some of some species have been 123 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: exterminated by settlers in our extinct ext The ones that 124 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,040 Speaker 1: are left can run really fast, they kick when they're cornered, 125 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: and they liked to eat fruit, insects and wheat. It 126 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: turns out UM they generally migrate kind of westward out 127 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: of drier areas and towards the coast after their breeding 128 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: season rabbit fruit Rabbit proof fences that are in parts 129 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: of Australia that were built between nine one and nineteen 130 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: o seven keep them away from much of the coast. 131 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: But it runs sort of north south and even though 132 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: they're migrating westward, they're also going northwards, so they're pretty 133 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: much running the same direction as the fences going. So 134 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: there's not a lot of protection offered with this fence. UM. 135 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: It also turns out that they're wiley, which people were 136 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: not expecting when they concocted this plan. Uh. Evens had 137 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: been protected under the Game Act of eighteen seventy four, 138 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: but in night new legislation which went into effect in 139 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: two actually listed them as vermin because of their really 140 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: devastating effect on wheat farms. Twenty thousand giant kicking running 141 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: bird vermin descended upon the wheat farms. Uh. It was 142 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: not good for anyone. Uh. They were making their way 143 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: through farms around Campion and while Ghulin, which are east 144 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: and northeast of Perth, as we said before, UH, causing 145 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: huge damage to the wheat farms. And some of the 146 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: soldier settlers were like, we remember a very effective weapon 147 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: from World War One, and we're gonna go ask if 148 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: we can get help. So they went to Sir George Pierce, 149 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: who was the Minister of Defense, and said, we would 150 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: like the military's help with this EMU problem. That can 151 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: we have some machine guns league which we laugh, but 152 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: it's like, uh, it's just one of those things that 153 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: seems so extreme it's almost hard to process. And I 154 00:08:52,120 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: want to fight a bird, let me get some heavy artillery. 155 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 1: But it really was that dire at that point. It 156 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: was people were really desperately seeking help. At this point. 157 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: Um Pierce agreed that he was going to send some soldiers. 158 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: There were some conditions though. Local defense personnel not civilians, 159 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,839 Speaker 1: had to be there to man the machine guns. There 160 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: had to be a commanding officer present, The State of 161 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: Western Australia would have to pay for the troop transport, 162 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: and the soldier settlers would have to provide the housing 163 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: and the AMMO and the food for the troops. He 164 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: did all of this without informing the Military Board. Colonel 165 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: Hoade of the first Cavalry Division in Sydney had also 166 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: requested on skins with the hope of using feathers for 167 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: his light horseman's hat. So the troops really like they 168 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: felt like they had put a plan together that was 169 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: gonna work. Yes, they thought success was imminent, yes and inevitable. 170 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: They were going to just be able to slaughter e moves, 171 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: retrieve their skins everybody. Major GPW. Meredith was the commander 172 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: of the seventh Heavy Battery and he was in charge 173 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: of this event. Also to quote Murray Johnson who we 174 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: referenced earlier, Sergeant McMurray and Gunner O'Halloran and their equipment 175 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: consisting of two Lewis machine guns and ten thousand rounds 176 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: of ammunition. Their task force was also joined by a 177 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: Fox movie tone cinematographer to record the forthcoming campaign, which 178 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: suggests that someone in authority, possibly Pierce, saw direct military 179 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: activity in the Wheatlands as useful government propaganda. So we've 180 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: got the major, the sergeant, the gunner, and the movie 181 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: team coming to Western Australia. They were in Western Australia already, 182 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: but coming to this part of Western Australia to kill 183 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: Imus in filment? How could this go anyway than success? Uh? 184 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: Just for context. The Lewis machine gun is a light 185 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: machine gun. It was invented by U. S. Colonel Isaac 186 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: Newton Lewis and it was used extensively by the British 187 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: Empire in World War One. It has a flat pan 188 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: magazine on top instead of a belt feed as you 189 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: might imagine. You can actually look up YouTube videos of 190 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: this and see what we're talking about. It's kind of 191 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: fascinating the way it feeds through. It's a big flat 192 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:18,839 Speaker 1: pan of ammunition that sits on top. Yeah, where the 193 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: MMO is actually loaded into the pan, almost like the 194 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: rays of the sun if you were drawing like a 195 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: childish drawing of the sun, and then you flip it 196 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,679 Speaker 1: onto the the machine gun and it feeds from that 197 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: pan rather than we've all seen in films like those 198 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: long the belt feed. But it doesn't work like that now. 199 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: This team arrived in early October, but just after they 200 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: got there a rainstorm drove all the EMUs out of 201 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: the fields. Were long enough that they said, okay, this 202 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: is actually we're not We're not worth waiting around here. 203 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: We're going to go home. Um. When the EMUs came back. 204 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: About a month later, Merritt, Major Meredith and his team 205 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: came back as well, and they arrived at the fields 206 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: near Campion on November two at about the time at 207 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: about the same time time as I heard of about 208 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 1: fifty EMUs. Uh. The problem was that the EMUs were 209 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: out of range of the machine guns, and some soldiers 210 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: tried to come and heard the EMUs towards the guns, 211 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: which was not all that effective. They finally did manage 212 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 1: to strike a few birds as they were fleeing for 213 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 1: the cover of nearby trees. And they actually made a 214 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: base camp on the land of a man named Joseph Joyce, 215 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: and they did recon on the surrounding farms for EMU activity. UH. 216 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: They managed to take out about a dozen birds before 217 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: deciding to change their tactics from seek out and shoot 218 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: to set ambushes near water sources. Right. The ambush strategy 219 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: was a little more successful than the seek and shoot strategy, 220 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,679 Speaker 1: but but not really by much. November three passed without 221 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 1: any kind of incident. On November four, about a thousand 222 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: EMUs came out of the trees and approached the ambush directly. 223 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: The ambush was set on the walls of a dam, 224 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: and the machine gunners opened fire and hit a few 225 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: birds before the machine gun jammed. The settlers who were 226 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: assisting with this operation open fire with their rifles, but 227 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: by that point the birds were scattering and running for 228 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: the tree line. They waited for the rest of the 229 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,680 Speaker 1: day for the birds to come back to this watering hole. 230 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,599 Speaker 1: When they didn't come back, uh, if everybody started to 231 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: get the idea that maybe these EMUs were a little 232 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: smarter than they had thought. Yeah, they didn't count on 233 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: them using the logic of that thing is dangerous, I 234 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,959 Speaker 1: will stay away from it. Lets uh. And so they 235 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: moved their operations south and they tried to mount a 236 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: Lewis machine gun onto a truck so that they could 237 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: fire while driving and hit EMUs that were on the move, 238 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: but the EMUs outran them and escaped into the trees, 239 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: and the gunner found the ride so rough that he 240 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,959 Speaker 1: really wasn't able to fire the machine gun anyway. Now Elsewhere, 241 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: on the same day, a truck ran down an EMU 242 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: hit it, ran out of control and destroyed a long 243 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: length of fence. So the battle against the EMUs was 244 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 1: not really going very well anywhere that day. By the 245 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: eighth of November Major Meredith's Meredith's team had used about 246 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: a quarter of their ammunition, which was about rounds, and 247 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: with that they had killed two uh Meredith later called 248 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: it three hundred, and the soldier settlers rounded it up 249 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: to five hundred, maybe to raise their spirits. They were 250 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 1: the ones paying for the ammo, so the idea that 251 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 1: such a tiny proportion of AMMO was actually killing EMUs 252 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: was a little distressing when they were the ones paying 253 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: for the bullets. And then on November nine, yes, we're 254 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: actually got to parliament about what was going on. When 255 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: parliament Member Harold Thornby actually asked Prime Minister Lions about 256 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: the farce that was going on in Western Australia. That 257 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 1: same day, the Secretary of Defense sent a telegram ordering 258 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 1: the operation to end. Yes, this is an example of 259 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: we would rather ask for forgiveness than permission. Did not 260 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: work out because, having not asked for permission, they were 261 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: ordered to return home. It was not as the scessful 262 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: attempt well, and it most likely actually made things worse, 263 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: since the fleeing EMUs than not only had they been 264 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: eating week, but now they were trampling crops. So the 265 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: soldier settlers, though, continued to ask for aid, and Meredith's 266 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: reports spoke of the extensive damage that the emu's had done. 267 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: He also explained as best as he could why he 268 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,320 Speaker 1: had used so much ammo on so few birds, And 269 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: these are his words. It must be realized that an 270 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 1: emu full out can do forty five. Consequently, the target is, 271 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: after the first burst, a very rapidly moving one, and 272 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: is only visible for a very short time. Moreover, the 273 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 1: emu is an amazingly hard bird to kill outright, and 274 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: many mortal. Many carry mortal wounds up to the distance 275 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: of half a mile on actual observation. UH. Much later 276 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: in this campaign, a farmer named A. E. Johnson killed 277 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: an emu with his truck and that bird had five 278 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: bullets in his body which appeared to have been from 279 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: the first onslaught. So this EMU was still alive days 280 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: after being shot with multiple rounds. Yeah, it had survived 281 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: and was just carrying around metal while it ran about 282 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: its business People in the government appeared to try to 283 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: distance themselves from the idea of a second campaign. Uh 284 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: and the Minister of Defense finally said that no military 285 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: personnel could be placed there, but that the state government 286 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: could have equipment if it found its own qualified operators. 287 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: So they didn't want to waste man hours, but they 288 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: were willing to offer them the materials needed to continue 289 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: trying to fight the EMUs on their own, but there 290 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: were no experience machine gunners in the civil service list, 291 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 1: so it was back to Meredith and team, who were 292 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: being lampooned as Major Meredith and his married men. They 293 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: came back to the area and launched a second offensive 294 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: on November, and they used Joseph Joyce's property as their 295 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: starting point again. They killed about EMUs on November and 296 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: about the twenty about twenty more the day after. At 297 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: about this time, I'm an animal welfare officer was sent 298 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: to oversee the reports that so many birds were apparently 299 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: being injured and then continuing to run. It's not likely 300 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 1: that he was able to do that much. So he 301 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: was basically there to try to ensure that the animals 302 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 1: weren't suffering, that they were being hit and killed and 303 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: not needlessly carrying on in an inhumane way. Right that 304 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: that was That was his role, but it's unlikely that 305 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 1: it actually made much of an effect. By November fifteen, 306 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: the birds had started to become release cautious of the 307 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,400 Speaker 1: soldiers activities, which I think people weren't quite expecting them 308 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 1: to learn from experience. Um, they would stay out of 309 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: range of the machine gun, so they were smarter than 310 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:48,120 Speaker 1: people thought they were. They were learning range distance and 311 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: where was safe and where wasn't. They had boundaries in 312 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: their head of how close they could get. The team 313 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,679 Speaker 1: moved around the area as various farmers would report to 314 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: them that they had seen EMUs and had crop damage, 315 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: and by December two they were pretty consistently killing uh 316 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,919 Speaker 1: by reports about a hundred eves a week. That's what 317 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: they were telling people. Brigadier Martin recalled Major Meredith on 318 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: December ten. In Martin's reports, he gave an estimated nine 319 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,359 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty six birds killed and nine thousand, eight 320 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 1: hundred sixty bullets used. That's the suspicious accounting of birds 321 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,560 Speaker 1: versus bullets, and that is just multiplying by ten. Yes, 322 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: there was an ongoing attempt to get the soldier settlers 323 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: to repay the military for that that ammunition. The way 324 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: that it went down is that the Agricultural Bank reimbursed 325 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 1: the military on the soldier's behalf, and then the bank 326 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,719 Speaker 1: put off asking the soldiers to repay them until nineteen 327 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:49,360 Speaker 1: thirty three because they know times are hard for everybody. Eventually, 328 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: Te Dixon, who was the president of the Wheat Growers 329 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: Union at Campion, got a demand for thirty five pounds, 330 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: and Daniel O'Leary, who was an executive member of the 331 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,840 Speaker 1: while Gulan Wheat Growers Union, got a demand for twenty 332 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:07,680 Speaker 1: four pounds. O Larry eventually got his payment reduced, though 333 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: to one pound fourteen shillings. He didn't want to pay 334 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: anything encountered with an accounting of how much money he 335 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 1: had spent personally on the effort, including nine pounds for 336 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: victualling his Majesty's troops, ten pounds for transport with a 337 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: further five pounds for damage to same and nine hundred 338 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: pounds for the loss of six thousand bushels of wheat 339 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: valued at three shillings per bushel. The whole thing remained suspended, 340 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: and many sources don't show that anybody ever actually got paid, 341 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: that no money changed hands for reimbursement. Now, even though 342 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:43,919 Speaker 1: this is pretty roundly seen as an unsuccessful attempt to 343 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: curb the population of e news, Western Australians continued to 344 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: ask for military help again in eight and nineteen forty three. 345 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: The military turned down the request all three times. The 346 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,720 Speaker 1: soldier settlers used their own arms to fight the EMUs instead. 347 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: O Leary, who we mentioned a few minutes ago in 348 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,359 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three also mentioned getting an RSPC a letter 349 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: about uh their destruction of the EMUs and how it 350 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,720 Speaker 1: was cruel. His response was that they were going to 351 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: defend their crops and they did not need anyone's permission, 352 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: and after World War Two, farmers were actually issued free 353 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: immunition for dealing with vermon. Two hundred and eighty four thousand, 354 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,359 Speaker 1: seven hundred four EMUs were known to have been killed 355 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: by farmers between ninety and nineteen sixty so in just 356 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 1: fifteen years time, right, So it seems like while the 357 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: firing of machine guns at herds of EMUs not very 358 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: successful as an attempt to control their population, people have 359 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: been able to do a little better with a rifle 360 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: sort of singling out one at a time. There are 361 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: still lots and lots of EMUs in Australia. Their population 362 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: now is controlled by a bounty. There are payments given 363 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,920 Speaker 1: for between five thousand and forty thousand birds a year 364 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: in Western Australia. Even though there are that many being shot, reportedly, 365 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,919 Speaker 1: their population are still pretty healthy. It's sort of like 366 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: the idea of if if the bird is really being 367 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,920 Speaker 1: a pest and it's not negatively affecting their overall population 368 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: to the point of threatening them to be able to 369 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: keep them out of farmlands, then generally people seem to 370 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,120 Speaker 1: be okay with this situation. Yeah, it's always you know, 371 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: as a compassionate human being, it's always hard to think 372 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,160 Speaker 1: about animals being killed. But this is one of those 373 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: cases where the government is really trying to balance the 374 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:44,919 Speaker 1: health of the animal population and the welfare of the 375 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 1: human population, and it's tricky. There's no easy answer really, 376 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: that's going to make everybody happy. So that's where they've 377 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 1: landed is with bounty, so that that one attempt they 378 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: fought a battle. They fought a battle. And at the 379 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: time things were they were obviously things were hard in 380 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 1: the Great Depression. People really took the opportunity to to 381 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,439 Speaker 1: lampoon the military and the government when that was going on. 382 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 1: It became a source of entertainment for people, which people 383 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 1: kind of needed then, and it was it was nice 384 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: for people to have a government target that they could 385 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: laugh at when people felt like the government was taking 386 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,439 Speaker 1: a lot of blame for what was going on in 387 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,159 Speaker 1: the community at the time. So that's the story of 388 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,640 Speaker 1: the Emy War, the brief and indeed bizarre wildlife management 389 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: attempt in Western Australia. I also have listener mails in 390 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,120 Speaker 1: her room. This gets an a lord. I think as 391 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,399 Speaker 1: as one of the greatest listener mails that we've gotten. 392 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: It is so awesome that you instant messaged me the 393 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: minute at our ind box and tell me how great 394 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: it was. I think they're leading. So this is from Megan. 395 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,320 Speaker 1: Megan says, I don't know who's spearheading the recent spate 396 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:05,240 Speaker 1: of medieval themed podcasts, but it's awesome. In college, part 397 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,959 Speaker 1: of my senior thesis focused on anchors is I almost 398 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: fell over when I heard you mentioned them in the 399 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: Marjorie Camp episode. This year, at Valentine's Day, a friend 400 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: and I spent an inordinate amount of time coming up 401 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: with Valentine's that anchorses might send to their friends. A sampling. 402 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: Roses are red, violets are blue, the wall has a hole, 403 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: please pass my lunch through. And roses are red, violets 404 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: are blue. Too bad. I'm an anchoress, and I'm dead 405 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: to you. I think I'll be working in the greedy 406 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: car business in no time. I love them. I love 407 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: them so much. They just made me giggle and giggle 408 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: the second I saw them. Thank you so much for 409 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 1: sending those, Megan h And I kind of want to 410 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,679 Speaker 1: hang them above my desk. I find them to be great. 411 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,120 Speaker 1: I also want to pass on a correction, in case 412 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: you missed it earlier. In that Marjorie episode, I referred 413 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: to the Tomb of St. Peter as being in uh 414 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: in Santiago. It is not. It is the Tomb of St. James. 415 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,439 Speaker 1: I said that all wrong, So so we have so 416 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: many tombs. If them in your head, I just the wrong, 417 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 1: completely wrong word just came right out of my mouth. 418 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:22,119 Speaker 1: It seems St. Peter is not where I say it was. 419 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: If you would like to learn more about this, if 420 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 1: you have things that you would like to talk to 421 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,639 Speaker 1: us about, if you would like to send us a note, 422 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: you can email us at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. 423 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,439 Speaker 1: We're also on Facebook at facebook dot com slash history 424 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,679 Speaker 1: class stuff, and on Twitter at missed in History. We 425 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,439 Speaker 1: also just started a tumbler. It's at missed in History 426 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: dot tumbler dot com, and we have a pen board 427 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,440 Speaker 1: on Pinterest. We are everywhere. If you would like to 428 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: learn more about the instrument of destruction that did not 429 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,879 Speaker 1: destroy nearly as many EMUs as people hoped it would, 430 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: you can go to our website. Put the word machine 431 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,600 Speaker 1: gun in the search bar and you will find how 432 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: machine guns work. You can do all that and a 433 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: whole lot more at our site, which is how stuff 434 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: Works dot com for more on this and thousands of 435 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:14,720 Speaker 1: other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com. M