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WonderHistory fact

In November 1932, Australia sent soldiers with two machine guns to the wheat farms of Western Australia, where about 20,000 emus were eating and trampling the crops. The birds scattered into small groups at the first shots, and after five weeks the army gave up, having made little difference.

Western Australia, 1932

History

The story behind the card

Many of the farmers were First World War veterans who had been given land by the government. The Great Depression had sent wheat prices crashing after 1929, and emus moving towards the coast after their breeding season found the cleared, watered farmland ideal. Defence Minister Sir George Pearce sent Major G. P. W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery with two soldiers, two Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. The emus proved hard targets: even a gun mounted on a lorry could not catch up with them. Meredith reported 986 birds killed with 9,860 rounds, a figure historians treat with caution, and the episode became known as the Emu War. Farmers asked for troops again in 1934, 1943 and 1948 and were refused. A bounty paid for each bird killed worked far better: 57,034 bounties were claimed in six months of 1934.

Türkçe oku
Kasım 1932'de Avustralya, Batı Avustralya'da buğday tarlalarını yiyip çiğneyen yaklaşık 20.000 emuya karşı iki makineli tüfekle asker gönderdi. Kuşlar ilk atışlarda küçük gruplara dağıldı; beş haftanın sonunda ordu pek bir şey başaramadan geri çekildi.
Batı Avustralya, 1932

Bölgedeki çiftçilerin çoğu, Birinci Dünya Savaşı'ndan sonra devletin toprak verdiği eski askerlerdi. 1929'da başlayan Büyük Buhran buğday fiyatlarını çökertmişti. Üstelik üreme mevsimini bitirip kıyıya doğru inen emular, açılıp sulanmış tarlaları kendilerine yurt edindi. Savunma Bakanı Sir George Pearce, topçu subayı Binbaşı G. P. W. Meredith'i iki asker, iki Lewis makineli tüfeği ve 10.000 mermiyle bölgeye yolladı. Emular zor hedefti: Tüfeklerden biri bir kamyona yerleştirildiğinde bile kamyon kuşlara yetişemedi. Meredith raporunda 9.860 mermiyle 986 kuş vurulduğunu bildirdi; tarihçiler bu sayıya ihtiyatla yaklaşır. Olay tarihe “Emu Savaşı” adıyla geçti. Çiftçiler 1934, 1943 ve 1948'de yeniden asker istedi, ama hükümet her seferinde geri çevirdi. Asıl işe yarayan, vurulan her kuş için ödenen ödül oldu: 1934'te altı ayda 57.034 ödül talep edildi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Emu War
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