Ep 4 Debrief: The Great Emu War of 1932

They came. They squawked. They conquered.

In this Naked History: Debrief, host Dyllan Gasaway digs into the ridiculous (and ridiculously true) aftermath of Australia’s infamous Emu War. You’ll hear the stories that didn’t make it into the main episode, from the missing military footage, to the requisition for 1,000 emu feathers, to the almost-but-not-quite camel cavalry.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Hey there, history nerds and curious weirdos.
Welcome to Naked History Debrief, the companion
commentary to our main Naked History episodes.
Think of this as the after party, the extended footnote, or
maybe just that drawer full of cool stuff that didn't quite fit
in the main story. This week we're circling back to
one of my favorite feathery Fiasco's The Great Emu War of

(00:22):
1932. If you haven't listened to that
one yet, pause and go do that. Trust me, you'll never look at
birds or bureaucrats the same way again.
So, without further ado, let's take a deep dive into the most
bizarre war that has ever been fought.

(00:56):
As with every naked history debrief that we do, I like to
start with something called Naked Regrets, AKA the moment
that I fess up to the fun facts,the strange stories and little
corrections that didn't quite make the cut for the main
episode, but we're still just too good to keep to myself.
The first thing we're going to discuss is the cinematographer
footage. Where did it go?

(01:18):
Now, there was really a Fox movie tone cameraman sent to
document the EMU operation. His name was not accorded
officially in dispatches, but wedo know that he shot film of the
soldiers prepping and deploying in Campion.
The footage reportedly showed the guns being mounted, some EMU
scattering, and even a few awkward chases.

(01:39):
So where's the rest of it? Unfortunately, it's most likely
lost. While Movietone archived many
newsreels from the era, regionalAustralian military footage was
considered low priority for preservation.
No known reels of the rest of the Emu War exist today in
public archives, but if you everfind one in your grandma's

(02:01):
attic, please call me immediately Now.
You can actually see this footage on YouTube.
If you just search Emu War 1932 you'll get some of the very
beginning of the operation. Our second naked regret is
covering camels. Were they actually considered
for the Emia war? Kind of.

(02:24):
So in 1932 the Australian Army did still use some camel patrols
in the interior, mostly for longrange desert movement.
Well, there's no evidence historically of camels being
formally offered for use in the Emu War.
There were internal logistics memos discussing the
impracticality of deploying mounted troops. 1 offhanded joke

(02:49):
in a memo suggested that quote. At least the camels wouldn't be
outpaced. So no camels in Campion.
But the idea wasn't entirely outside the realm of
possibility. 3rd up we have hat feathers and colonial drip.
Colonel Hoads request for 1000 emu skins wasn't just a punch

(03:09):
line. Emu plumes were an actual part
of the Australian Light Horses Regiment's uniform, worn tucked
into their iconic slouch hats. It was a nod to the Bush, a
symbol of ruggedness and identity.
And yes, that's why the idea of using bird remains for fashion
wasn't remotely weird to them. I mean, we've all seen Victorian

(03:31):
taxidermy hats anyway, right? And lastly, was there ever a
treaty between the Australians and the emus?
One of my favorite newspaper quotes from the episode we do
mention it in there comes from the Perth Daily News.
After the army withdrawal, no Treaty of peace has been

(03:51):
concluded. The emus remain in possession of
disputed territory. That's just great a journalism
right there. And no, there was never a formal
end to hostilities and the emus were never brought to the table
or to the tent. Although now it is a protected
bird in Australia and is a sign of national pride.

(04:12):
Although I'm sure there's a couple of farmers still in the
Outback who take some potshots every now and again.
Let's zoom out from feathered warfare and check what else
happened in this week in history.
July 14th, 1789 is the storming of the Bastille, France's
favorite national holiday. A Paris mob stormed the Bastille

(04:35):
prison, kicking off the French Revolution.
Now there were only 7 prisoners inside, but symbolically it was
the fall of tyranny. The Revolution would go on to
reshape not only France, but theworld also.
Heads would roll. Literally July 15th, 1971, Nixon

(04:56):
announced his trip to China. In a move that shocked the
world, President Richard Nixon announced that he'd be visiting
the People's Republic of China. This was huge.
China had been politically isolated since 1949, and the
visit, which actually took placein 1972, marked the beginning of
modern Sino American diplomacy. July 16th, 1945, the Trinity

(05:20):
test at 5:29 AM in the New Mexico desert, the world's first
nuclear bomb was detonated. The Manhattan Project had
succeeded. The age of atomic warfare had
officially begun. Physicist J Robert Oppenheimer
later recalled a line from the Bhagavad Gita.
Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

(05:44):
So remember that whenever you'rehaving your next bad day at
work, dipping your morning coffee.
Up next July 17th, 1918, the execution of the Romanovs,
Russia's imperial family, SAR Nicholas the Second, his wife
Alexandria and their five children were executed by
Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg. The ACT ended centuries of

(06:08):
Romanov rule. For decades, rumors swirled that
one daughter, Anastasia, had survived, but DNA evidence later
disproved. This July 18th, 64 CE, the Great
Fire of Rome begins. A massive fire breaks out in the
city of Rome. It ends up burning for six whole

(06:30):
days, destroying most of the city, and leads to Emperor
Nero's infamous, although probably apocryphal, fiddle
playing. Nero later blamed Christians,
leading to a widespread persecution.
The lesson? I guess always have a scapegoat
ready when your city's on fire. And lastly, July 19th, 1848, the
Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's right convention

(06:53):
in the US, kicks off in Seneca Falls, NY Organized by Elizabeth
Caddy Stanton and Lucretia Mott,it produced the Declaration of
Sentiments modeled after the Declaration of Independence,
which demanded the right to vote.
It took 72 more years, but eventually women did get the
right to vote. And that's it for today's

(07:17):
episode of Debrief. From Lost Film Reels and
rejected Camel Tactics to Bastille mobs and atomic blasts,
it's been quite a ride. If you enjoyed the Emu War
episode, do me a favor. Rate review, subscribe, or shout
for the birds into a wheat fielduntil someone makes eye contact

(07:37):
with you. I'm not picky.
Have any corrections? Maybe some questions or a couple
of suggestions? Feel free to drop us a line on
our socials at Naked History Podcast.
As for the next episode of NakedHistory, we're going to be
taking a deep dive and a little bit of the fascinating look into
the dark underground of Paris. More specifically, we're going

(08:01):
to be unearthing the mystery of the Paris Catacombs.
Until then, I've been Dylan Gasaway and this has been Naked
History Debrief. Remember to always stay weird,
stay curious, and stay naked, historically speaking.
Have a good one.