“They are like Zulus whom even dum-dum bullets could not stop.”

–The Sun Herald, July 5, 1953.

After the First World War had ended, the Australians were having trouble finding tasks to perform from the veterans who had returned from fighting intensely. Acres of land was awarded to the soldiers for the cultivation of wheat and sheep during the times of the Great Depression. With that amount of undeveloped land came a few problems like the migration of the Emu birds into the empty fields that would consume or ruin all crops. In return the Australian Major by the name of Meredith decided to wage a war against them, killing only a handful out of about 20,000. The Emus kept running despite being shot at by machine guns thus making them hard targets. Not only did the war result in an embarrassing defeat for the Australians but they were criticised by the international community for the attempts of the extermination of the rare bird. The credibility of the military of Australia fell as the Emu progressed towards a place of pride at the Australian coat of arms. Before, during and after WWI, many countries declared war as a show pf power and strength. This pointless war that only resulted in the loss of 25 percent of the country’s ammunition along with the loss of the lives of a dozen or so innocent birds is an example of the mentality that the rulers and generals in armies had.