The Emu war
Storyboard Text
- Original farming
- The great depression
- BANK
- What do you mean ' it isn't worth anything ' ?!
- Vexing emus
- why do you keep eating MY crops?! what about his?
- The Australian government had just established 48 farming estates totalling 200,000 acres of farmland in southwestern Australia. This land was known as the wheat belt at the time, but its landlocked location meant it had limited water and was difficult to cultivate—except for wheat, not much grew well.
- Emu war
- WE HATE PIERCE
- An economic slowdown in America was brought on by the American stock market crash in October 1929, that was brought on by wildly inflated stocks. In response, Banks stopped lending money and gold had no value. America started to apply tariffs, a charge on imports from abroad, which caused the economic downturn to spread and lead to the beginning of the great depression.
- Effects on people
- BOO!
- In 1932, 20,000 Emus descended on Western Australia. Emus were a protected species until 1922, when they were reclassified as pests. Faced with an apparent never-ending supply of wheat, the opportunistic birds homed in on the veteran's plots. The Emus ate the crops and ripped holes in the fences that were necessary to keep rabbits out. The 20,000 emus cost farmers who were already struggling millions of pounds in crop losses and damage.
- End
- In 1932, the farmers decided that something had to be done—the vexing emus had to be terminated by machine gun.
- KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!
- Sir George Pierce of the Royal Australian Artillery, in charge of lessening the emu population, provided the soldiers with 10,000 rounds of ammunition for 20,000 emus - in aftermath, a result of a ‘number’ of birds killed, reports vary from 20-200.He was widely mocked in both international and national newspapers. (Animal rights activists in the United Kingdom protested the slaughter of the emus.) In parliament, he was dubbed the minister of the emu war, - which hardly could have reflected positively on his military career.
- JUSTICE FOR EMUS
- Western Australian farmers were earning bounty money from culling emus, and the farms gradually returned to profitability.
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