Sunday Funday Special: The Great Emu War of 1932

Did Australia really go to war… with emus? Yes, they did. And no, it didn’t go as planned. 🪖🐦

Join us for this week’s Sunday Funday Special as we dive into one of the most bizarre conflicts in modern history: The Great Emu War of 1932. Learn how a flock of flightless birds managed to outwit the Australian military, why farmers were begging for reinforcements, and how this feathered fiasco became a comedic yet sobering commentary on human intervention and nature’s resilience.

It’s history, absurdity, and a little existential pondering all rolled into one unforgettable tale. You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, and you might never look at emus the same way again.

🦤 Don’t miss it—because sometimes the most unexpected battles teach us the biggest lessons.

Episode Transcript

Delilah Tanner (00:16):
Hello seekers of the strange, the curious and the downright absurd. Welcome back to the conscious conscience. Before we dive in to today's tale of chaos, bird brains and military missteps. Let's have a quick chat about keeping this ship afloat. The Conscious Conscience Media House thrives thanks to listeners like you. We appreciate every listen and share. If you want to support us more, visit our website to support us through donations or snag some merch. We've got everything from T-shirts to mugs to notebooks for plotting your own improbable rebellions. Every bit helps us keep unearthing the weird and wonderful for you and take steps to expand our mission of bringing consciousness, critical thinking and truth to everyone we can.

(01:09):
All right. So back to the episode. Now, let me take you back to the year 1932. Picture it Australia, the land of kangaroos, Vegemite and military operations against flightless birds. That's right, folks. Today we're talking about the great EMU War, a conflict so ludicrous it makes any conspiracy theory seem almost reasonable. Here's the setup. It's the early 1930s and Australian farmers are struggling after the Great Depression. If that wasn't enough, a plague of 20,000 emus descends upon their farmland. These birds aren't just visiting. They're having an all you can eat crop buffet. The farmers, understandably panicked, turned to the Australian Government and the government in turn brought in the military. Yes, this was no ordinary pest control effort. This was war. Enter Major Meredith and his men armed with two Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. The plan was simple. Eliminate enough emus to scare the rest away. But as it turns out, emus had no intention of surrendering. Instead, they became the most unlikely tactile geniuses in history. Imagine this. The soldiers line up guns ready? And the emus scatter in all directions. They ran in zigzags, making it nearly impossible to hit them. Some accounts even describe them as working in small, coordinated groups to outmaneuver the soldiers. It was like watching a feathered version of guerrilla warfare, and the emus were winning. Over the course of the first few days, the soldiers managed to kill maybe 50. Yes, 50 out of 20,000. And that was with machine guns. At one point, they tried mounting the guns on trucks, but the emus proved faster and more agile than their vehicles. Imagine the embarrassment of being outrun and outwitted by a bird that can't even fly. But here's the kicker the emus weren't just damaging crops. They were damaging egos. Soldiers reportedly joked that the birds were bulletproof, with feathers thick enough to deflect gunfire. Farmers, meanwhile, were growing increasingly frustrated and the government, well, they weren't exactly thrilled about the mounting costs of this feathery fiasco. Ultimately, after several weeks of what can only be described as military humiliation, the campaign was abandoned. Meredith and his men retreated, declaring the emu's victorious. The human toll, plenty of bruised pride and a treasury left lighter from the cost of this failed operation. Now here's a fun twist. This wasn't the only time humans tried to take on the emus. In later years, local governments resorted to offering bounties for emu carcasses a much cheaper and, frankly, more effective approach. But nothing quite compares to the sheer absurdity of the 1932 campaign. It remains the one and only time a military declared war on a bird and came out the clear loser. So what have we learned? First, never underestimate a flightless bird with a top speed of 30 miles per hour and a knack for chaos. Second, maybe consider simpler solutions like fences or scarecrows before you call in the army. And third, if you're ever feeling defeated in life, just remember, at least you didn't lose a war to an emu. And that, my friends, wraps up today's journey into one of history's most ridiculous chapters. But don't rest just yet. Our next episode dives into something a bit more modern. 5G and mind control. Are the signals really scrambling our brains, or is it just another urban myth? We'll sort fact from fiction, so stay tuned to find out. As always, stay curious. Stay conscious. And stay cautious of birds. We'll see you in the next episode.