Emu War
Farmers complained to the government about the birds destroying the crops. A group of veteran settler-farmers went to meet with the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce. The settler-farmers had been soldiers in World War I. They understood machine guns. They asked the government to send machine guns. The minister agreed. But, he wanted soldiers to use the guns, not the settler-farmers. The Western Australian government would pay to transport the soldiers. The farmers would give them food and places to live. The farmers would also pay for the bullets. Pearce also wanted to send the guns because the birds would be good target practice for the soldiers. Some in the government may have thought the military operation would make the government look good. People would see that they were helping the Western Australian farmers. They wanted to stop a plan for Western Australia to become an independent country. A cinematographer (movie-maker) from Fox Movietone joined the soldiers.