Australians are known for their larrikin sense of humor. We are also a generous lot and like to raise money for our local community organizations. Raffles, lamington drives, and charity balls tend to become a little boring, and community fundraising committees are always on the lookout for new and interesting money-raising ideas. So, combine humor, community spirit, and the need to create a bit of fun, and you end up with some of the wackiest events Australia has to offer.

Some events lasted only a short time, such as the local in one rural town who spent an entire weekend sitting on a dunny on the back of a pickup truck outside the local pub to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. However, many events which started off as a bit of a joke surprised even the organizers with how popular they’ve become.

10 Henley-On-Todd Regatta

In August each year, the dry bed of the Todd River in Alice Springs is the unlikely venue for a boat race. It was originally ran as a tongue-in-cheek jest at the British-style rowing regattas which still occur in major cities.

Back in 1962, members of the local Rotary Club met for a picnic by the dry creek bed, talking about fundraising ideas. One member was actually joking when he suggested running a “boat race” in which “rowers” carried their boats down the dry river bed. However, the idea caught the imaginations of the locals, and the Henley-on-Todd Regatta has become an annual event in the middle of the outback.

The madcap event sees teams of “rowers” run down a dry creek bed holding up their makeshift “boats” around them, much like Fred Flintstone’s car in the 1960s cartoon. Participants must craft their own boat large enough to enclose a crew of four to be run down the river bed. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged, which adds to the overall fun atmosphere of the regatta.^[1]

9 Dunny Races

Few things are more typically “Australian” than the old bush outhouse, or “dunny” as we call it. So it should come as no surprise that this has been incorporated into Australia Day celebrations on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

In January each year, teams of five gather for the annual Dunny Race.^[2] Four team members push and pull a portable dunny on wheels, while the fifth competitor sits on the “throne” for the mad dash for the finish line.

The Dunny Race is but one part of an overall wacky Australia Day festival. Other typical Australian activities on the day include a Weetbix-eating competition, thong-throwing contest, and a crab race. Like all great Australian festivals, there is also plenty of beer.

8 Darwin Beer Can Regatta

In July each year, the Darwin Lions Club holds a fundraising regatta with a twist.

Unlike their mates in Alice Springs, the boats do actually take to water on Mindl Beach. The catch is that the boats have to be made out of recycled beer cans. Contestants spend several months preparing their vessels in the hope that their boats will actually float. Many don’t. They must also consume a lot of beer in the name of charity along the way.

Participants race around a set course, trying to sabotage the opposition along the route. From water cannons to flour bombs, almost anything goes to try to capsize the other boats. A secret object is hidden along the route, and the winner is the crew who successfully brings this back to land. It is perfectly acceptable to steal the object from other crews.

The Darwin Beer Can Regatta is certainly one of the wackiest fundraisers you will see in Australia.

7 Cockroach Races

There is an Australian saying that people would “bet on two flies crawling up the wall.” The Story Bridge Hotel in Brisbane certainly takes insect racing to a new level.

In January each year, the hotel’s Australia Day Cockroach Races have become a major community event. In 1982, two patrons decided to settle a dispute over which suburb had the faster cockroaches by racing them. Today, the Australia Day Cockroach Races have become a major annual fundraiser for a youth charity.^[4]

The street is closed off, with “stadiums” erected around the “arena,” where patrons can view the races in comfort. The program of events includes a “steeplechase” where the cockies have to climb over a hose. Competitors buy and “train” their cockies prior to the event, giving them hilarious names under which they compete on the day.

It’s possibly not an event to consider if you aren’t partial to insects.

6 Wife Carrying Championships

Carrying your new wife over the threshold has been a time-honored tradition. However, would you believe the Australian town of Singleton has held the Australian Wife Carrying Championships since 2005?

The event is held as a novelty item at the annual Singleton Agricultural Show and was inspired by the World Wife Carrying championships, held in Finland each year since 1992.^[5] Contestants have to traverse an obstacle course with their wives on their backs.

The couple with the fastest time are declared the Australian champions. The winners also have the opportunity to travel to Finland to compete in the World Wife Carrying Championships.

5 Tuna Tossing In South Australia

In January each year, the South Australian town of Port Lincoln holds a festival celebrating the region’s tuna industry. “Tunarama” provides the usual music, food stalls, and fireworks for local festivalgoers. However, the most popular event in the festival’s program is the annual Tuna Toss.

Back in 1979, a couple of festival committee members decided the festival needed something to liven it up a bit. Noting the way in which local tuna fishermen would toss their catch from the boats up onto the waiting trucks, they decided to start a tuna toss of their own. Like many other unusual events, it caught on, and the Tunarama Tuna Toss is now celebrating its 40th year.

Burly young men line up on the sand, twirling a tuna to see how far they can throw it. A 9- to 10-kilogram (20–22 lb) tuna is tossed using a similar technique to Olympic hammer throwers. The current record stands at 37.23 meters (122.15 ft).^[6]

If tossing a large fish doesn’t appeal to you, the festival still gives you plenty of opportunity to sample the local seafood.

4 Cane Toad Racing

The ugly cane toad was introduced into Queensland back in the 1930s in an attempt to control the cane beetles which were affecting local sugarcane crops. Not only did the experiment fail, but the toxic toads have reached plague proportions throughout Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia.

This, however, doesn’t stop Australians having a bit of fun with them. Many Northern Queensland pubs now hold weekly or even daily cane toad races, where numbers are strapped to the back of the toads, which are placed in the middle of an arena. The first toad to jump out of the arena wins.

The races started on Magnetic Island in Queensland during the 1980s as a fun way of raising money for local charities. It was so much fun that the races have become as viral as the toads themselves and can be enjoyed in many Queensland pubs.

3 Birdsville Races

Remote rural communities have always had to invent their own fun. So when a group of landowners and stockmen came together to organize a fundraising horse race on the border of Queensland and the Northern Territory back in 1882, little did they know that it would turn into a major event on the Australian racing calendar.

Today, the population of the tiny town of Birdsville on the edge of the Simpson Desert explodes from around 140 to thousands as hundreds of horses and thousands of spectators converge on the middle of nowhere for the annual race in September each year. Unlike more prestigious events, racegoers camp out in tents under the stars, consuming some 80,000 cans of beer.

Like most Australian events, the emphasis is on fun. Fancy dress is the order of the day, with a host of fun activities organized across the week raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. From fun runs and sack races to a “mock race” where toy horses are pulled by strings along the main street, the Birdsville Races have turned into an annual festival of fun.^[8]

2 Melbourne Birdman Rally

Man has always dreamed of flying, as exemplified by the tale of Icarus in Greek mythology. In March each year, birdmen from around Australia converge on Melbourne for the annual Birdman Rally, part of the Moomba Festival.^[9] Competitors spend months designing and building their wacky flying contraptions before launching themselves into the Yarra River in the name of charity.

Homemade gliders, more serious aircraft, and simply hilarious birdman costumes line up to compete for both distance and entertainment value. The wackier the better, and points are given for creativity and humor. The aim is to make it to the other side of the Yarra River, although competitors inevitably end up plunging into the water.

Winners’ scores are based not only upon how far they can “fly” but also on how much money they have raised for their chosen charity prior to the event.

1 Narooma Duck Races

Yes, Australians will bet on just about anything, including rubber bath duckies. On the far south coast of NSW, the Narooma Rotary Club holds an annual “duck race” as one of their major community fundraisers.

Each Australia Day, 1,000 numbered bath ducks are dropped into the estuary off the local bridge to “swim” downstream. Locals take a ticket and urge their duckie on from the foreshore. The first duck to reach the town wharf is declared the winner. Meanwhile, local surf club members take to the water in kayaks to rescue wayward ducks that wander off course and are subsequently “disqualified.”

The duck races have been running for over ten years and are a firm fixture on the local Australia Day calendar. Locals vie for prime spots along the foreshore to watch the races.^[10]

Lesley Connor is a retired Australian newspaper editor who provides travel articles for online publications and her own travel blog.

The Land Down Under. Sweltering heat and a menagerie of obscure and bizarre creatures has led the smallest continent in the world to be considered a land of danger and death. Tales of man-eating sharks that put Jaws to shame, poisonous spiders that inhabit shoes, and crocodiles that resemble the dinosaurs that once walked the Earth are rooted in tradition. Yet, one cannot help but wonder: Just how dangerous are these creatures?

In the following list, with no particular order, we will attempt to dispel the notion that Australia’s fauna are simply creatures to be avoided at all costs. Rather, they’re the victims of media hype. Please comment with any creatures you feel were missed, or share your own stories of encounters with them.

10 Blue-Ringed Octopus

Perhaps the most unassuming creature on the list, merely the size of a pencil, the blue-ringed octopus has gained notoriety for its vivid coloration and paralyzing toxins. Often cited as an example for the adage “Everything in Australia Can Kill You,” these cephalopods have, in fact, garnered a reputation far exceeding their exploits.

Despite the strength of their toxins, only three deaths can be attributed to the octopuses’ bite, one of which did not even occur in Australia.^[1] Note, however, that being bitten is still a serious matter and potentially fatal. So, spare a thought for the solitary creatures, and make sure you keep your hands to yourself when exploring tide pools.

9 Sharks

If Finding Nemo has taught us anything, it’s that one whiff of blood sends sharks into a murderous feeding frenzy. And there is some truth to that. Sharks are apex predators which will bite everything from unsuspecting fish to intrusive surfers. In fact, the likelihood of being attacked and killed by a shark is higher in Australia (the land of beaches and sun) than it is in any other country. How likely, you ask? Well, statistically, the odds of being attacked by a shark are one in 2,794,600, according to reports.

Those aren’t the worst odds, one must concede, especially when faced with the knowledge that over 70 people died between the years of 2008 and 2017 at the hands (hooves?) of horses and cows, compared to only 26 fatalities by sharks and other marine animals.^[2] In fact, on average, only two people are fatally attacked by sharks in Australia per year. So, when in Australia, make sure you enjoy the beach, but always remember to swim between the flags!

8 Redback Spider

Nothing sends chills up one’s spine more than the thought of eight skeletal legs crawling their way across your skin, and this nightmare is very much a reality for many Australians. Approximately 2,700 spider species have been formally described on the continent, which is not even a third of the estimated extant species. Of these species, one of the most recognized and prevalent is the redback spider, so named for the distinctive red stripe on its abdomen. This creature inhabits urban areas, often found in garden sheds or similarly undisturbed locations, where it uses the toxins in its venom to subdue insects.

This venom is strong enough to kill humans who are unfortunate enough to get bitten, though there were no deaths in Australia from confirmed spider bites from 1979 to 2016.^[3] As is the case with most spiders, even the venomous redbacks are harmless unless provoked or disturbed, and they’re more likely to attempt to flee the threat or even play dead, as opposed to biting.

7 Cassowary

The formidable-looking cassowary is arguably less well-known compared to other creatures on this list. This imposing bird hails from the same family as the ostrich and emu, standing up to 2 meters (6.6 ft) tall and weighing as much as 76 kilograms (168 lb). Of the three species, only the southern cassowary lives in Australia, where it inhabits dense rainforests, avoiding potential threats and existing, primarily, off berries and seeds.

Yet despite its solitary and mainly frugivorous nature, the bird possesses a dagger-like claw on its feet that can grow up to 13 centimeters (5 in) in length and can be wielded with potentially fatal results, making it one of only a handful of birds to have been directly responsible for a recorded fatality.^[4] Nevertheless, fatalities are relatively rare, although one recently occurred in Florida. Remember that most wild animals will avoid humans, rather than engage with them.

6 Saltwater Crocodiles

The estuarine, or saltwater, crocodile is the largest crocodilian in the world, growing between 4.6 and 5.2 meters (15–17 ft) on average, with some male specimens reaching 7 meters (23 ft)! The crocodiles’ habitat is widespread, stretching over much of Northern Australia, where it grows to such staggering sizes on a diet consisting of anything from fish and turtles to buffalo and livestock.

The “saltie” is also notorious for its reputation as a man-eater, though such rogue animals have been reported more often in Asian countries such as Malaysia. Yet, despite having been responsible for 14 deaths in the Northern Territory between 2005 and 2014,^[5] saltwater crocodiles aren’t known to attack humans unless their territory is encroached upon.

5 Sydney Funnel-Web Spider

What creature has eight legs, can grow to have a 10-centimeter (4 in) leg span, and looks like it belongs on the set of a horror movie? If you answered a funnel-web spider, you’d be right. Of the 35 species of funnel-web, the most dangerous to humans is the Sydney funnel-web, found in urban and garden areas in and around Sydney and often encountered in shoes that have been left outside overnight. Within the species, the male spiders are notably more dangerous, reputed to inject a venom six times more potent than their female counterparts.

The secret ingredient is a toxin dubbed “robustoxin,” which attacks the nervous system and, according to arachnid curator Dr. Robert Raven, can kill a human in less than 15 minutes. However, despite the apparent danger toward humans, and the strength of their venom, Sydney funnel-webs can only be held responsible for 13 recorded fatalities, with no deaths occurring since the introduction of an antivenom in 1981.^[6] As with most species on the list, if we simply exercise caution and common sense, we can easily avoid harm.

4 Dingo

As Australia’s largest mammalian carnivore—standing about the height of a medium dog—the dingo has become a tourist attraction in its native country. Most prevalent along the eastern and southern coastlines and throughout Central Australia,^[7] dingoes have long held a place in the folklore of Australia’s traditional owners, commonly referenced in Dreamtime stories. With their naturally inquisitive nature, interactions between humans and dingoes have become commonplace, as many zoos and sanctuaries have begun to offer close-quarters experiences. However, in the wild, the same result is not often achieved. As is the case with many fatal wildlife encounters, encroaching upon the dingo’s natural habitat has been the cause of both recorded deaths from the species.

Perhaps most famous is the death of Azaria Chamberlain, a nine-week-old baby snatched by a dingo while on vacation with her family, an incident which became a worldwide-publicized murder case in the early 1980s. The only other fatal attack occurred in 2001, when nine-year-old Clinton Gage was mauled and killed by a dingo on Fraser Island, a popular tourist attraction due to its population of “pure” dingo packs. Yet, for a creature that has become a scapegoat for human foolishness, two deaths seems an almost unexpectedly low number, as tourism and lack of food continues to lead to aggression within a usually curious native species.

3 Cone Snail

Probably the most aesthetically pleasing creature on this list, the cone snail (also known as the cone shell) appears, at first glance, to be no more than a patterned shell. Inhabiting warm waters throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans (with around 166 species thought to inhabit Australian waters), the predatory snails propel barbed, venom-coated darts at the small fish and worms that make up its diet.

Although the toxins are designed to paralyze its prey before it is consumed, some of the larger species can prove harmful even to humans, with the venom’s toxicity compared to that of a snake. Despite the potential danger of the creatures and their deceptive appearance, only 36 people have been fatally stabbed in the past 90 years,^[8] with only one of these occurring in waters surrounding Australia. Cone snails are nevertheless a potentially deadly reminder not to touch the wildlife.

2 Stonefish

Taking the next spot on our list is another ambush predator, commonly found in the waters off the eastern coast of Australia. As its name suggests, the stonefish resembles a mossy rock on the seabed as it lies in wait for an unwary fish to pass by. Similar to the fish whose paths diverge with the predator, any human unfortunate enough to tread on the stonefish’s back will receive a nasty shock. Thirteen spines lining the dorsal fin are raised when pressure is placed upon them, injecting a highly toxic venom into any would-be attackers.

So strong is its venom that the stonefish has been handed the dubious honor of being the most venomous fish in the world.^[9] However, the introduction of antivenom in 1959 and a rise in public awareness have ensured no recorded Australian deaths in recent times, though stings are relatively common. And If this and the previous entry weren’t enough to convince you never to step foot in the water again, just see what’s next . . .

1 Stingrays

While some creatures on this list may seem, in name or appearance, to be unassuming, the same is not true for the horrifyingly named stingray, containing such families as the thorntail and whiptail stingrays. Although these flat marine animals can grow quite large, reaching several meters in length and hundreds of kilograms in weight, they live on a diet of mollusks and crustaceans, which they hunt on the sea floor. When threatened, however, the rays can lash out with a tail spine, stabbing and injecting venom.

While their presence attracts divers all over the world, Australians will most likely remember the role a stingray played in the death of beloved wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin, who was fatally stabbed while filming a documentary in Queensland in 2006. Although Irwin’s death was one of only two fatal attacks in Australia since 1945, nonfatal attacks are very common, though easily avoided, with NSW Ambulance reporting 116 incidents between late 2013 and late 2016.^[10]

A recent high-school graduate living in Australia, born and raised in England, who loves reading, writing and sports.

In 1932, Australia declared war on emus. And, by most accounts, the emus won. It’s one of the Internet’s favorite stories, one that’s been spread on every website that deals in shocking facts. including this one.

But the story, which played out over months, is usually told in a single sentence. Every detail that led up to the Great Emu War is cut out, and we never hear the answers to those questions that immediately spring to mind: What could have made Australia think going to war with emus was a good idea? And how in the world did they lose?

It’s a shame, because the full story is incredible—and a little less absurd than it seems.

10The Emu Were Legitimately Ruining Lives

“Those who didn’t live with the emu couldn’t understand the damage they did,” said Australia’s Minister for Defense, George Pearce. He wasn’t wrong. The emu were ruining lives.

The farmers who fought the emu weren’t just ordinary workers. They were veterans of the First World War. When they came home, the government sent more than 5,000 servicemen out to farm Australia’s wild and untamed west. The Emu War is a story of settlers on a wild frontier, fighting against the natives of the land. Who, in this case, just happen to be emus.

At first, the farmers were making a profit, until the area was hit by a drought. Starving and desperate, the emus started moving toward the farmlands. They tore holes in the fences, trampled and devoured the crops, and left behind open pathways for the rabbits to get in.

Millions of pounds were lost because the havoc these emus were raging. Some farmers gave up and moved back east. Others were threatening to leave. And a few were so driven to despair that they ended their own lives.

The emus had to go, and these ex-military men knew one surefire way to do it. Just get us a few machine guns, they told their premier, and they’d clear up the emu problem in no time.

9The Minister For Defense Thought It Would Be Good PR

George Pearce was the man who approved the Great Emu War. He couldn’t put machine guns in civilian hands, of course, but he didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t send a few soldiers out west. So he did it.

He had a vested interest in getting rid of the emus. The government had sent these farmers out west, and they needed the crops. But, when they asked Pearce to send them machine guns and military trucks, it was more than just generosity that motivated him. It was the chance for some good PR.

Pearce sent a camera crew out with the soldiers to film the Great Emu War. This, he thought, would be his chance to show Australia’s rural voters than he cared. He was going to destroy the emus, save the farmers, and be hailed as a hero. This would be his crowning achievement.

Pearce did what he could to make the Emu War his legacy. He justified it as target practice for the soldiers and ordered the men to bring back 100 emu skins and planned to put their feathers in the light horsemen’s hats.

He wasn’t completely naive, though. He knew this could go wrong. And he got ready for that backlash. He made the farmers foot the bill and made them sign an agreement with the state. The contract made it clear: if things went south, Pearce wasn’t going to take any responsibility for what happened.

8People In The Cities Were Outraged

The real battle, for the farmers, wouldn’t be against the emus. It would be against the cities. When the people of Australia heard what Pearce was planning on doing, they protested it hard.

Senator James Guthrie led the fight against Pearce’s plan, which the press quickly named “The Emu War.” Guthrie said it was “unnecessary cruelty.” If the emu had to go, he argued, then it should be done through “more humane, if less spectacular methods.”

Pearce bit back, telling Guthrie, “It is no more cruel to kill the bird with machine-guns than with rifles,” but the cities weren’t convinced. Over the next few days, papers on the east coast were filled with think-pieces calling it “a brutal form of mass slaughter” and rhapsodizing the emu as the great Australian bird.

But with or without the support of the cities, the Emu War marched forward. “The farmers would adopt any effective methods to protect their crops,” one paper declared, “and would not ask the permission of anyone before doing so.”

7The Emu Used Advanced Guerrilla Tactics

“The emu,” Sydney’s Sunday Herald warned, “is a tough and unpredictable adversary.”

It’s easy to underestimate a dumb, feathery animal. When Major G. P. W. Meredith led the militia west to meet the emu, he was sure it would be an easy fight. They had brought machine guns that fired 300 rounds per minute and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition. All they had to do, he figured, was point and shoot, and the emu would die.

When they launched their first attack, the overconfident militia opened fire from hundreds of yards away. The emu scattered. These animals are incredibly quick, capable of running over 50 kilometers per hour. With every one racing off in a different direction, the militia didn’t have a chance of catching them.

“The Emu command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics,” one writer quipped as the militia ended its first day with nearly nothing to show for their efforts. The militia didn’t totally disagree. The emu, they reported, were smarter than they’d imagine. The animals knew that hunting season had begun, and they were adapting.

“Each pack seems to have a leader now,” one soldier reported, “a big black-plumed bird which stands fully six feet high and keep watch while his mates carry out their work of destruction and warns them of our approach.”

6Emus Have The Invulnerability Of Tanks

By Day 2, Major Meredith was taking things more seriously. His militia would no longer just open fire from a distance. This time, they would sneak up on the emu until they were as close as possible before they fired a single bullet.

Meredith’s men managed to sneak up on a pack of 1,000 emus, standing only 100 yards away. Then he gave the order to fire. Machine guns blasted at the massive pack of birds, not stopping until they had to reload. But when the dust settled, they’d killed fewer than a dozen emus.

“The can face machine-guns with the invulnerability of tanks,” a frustrated Major Meredith reported at the end of the day. The emu’s feathers were so thick that the barrage didn’t even penetrate their skin.

“There’s only one way to kill an emu,” one of the soldiers agreed. “Shoot him through the back of the head when his mouth is closed or through the front of his mouth when his mouth is open. That’s how hard it is.”

Meredith was dumbstruck. “If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds,” he said, “it would face any army in the world.”

5The Army Tried To Pick On Easier Emus

After the failure of the second day, Major Meredith and his men fell back. They would give up on the emus they’d been trying to kill and reposition themselves further north, where, he explained, “Emus are reported to be fairly tame.”

The first pack they’d fought were just too tough to take down. They were going after an easier target. And this time they were going to run them down with trucks. Major Meredith loaded machine guns up on top of nine trucks and drove after the emus, raining hellfire.

It still didn’t work. The emus saw them coming and bolted, usually keeping a good kilometer ahead of Meredith’s men. When they did catch up, it was often even worse. Shortly after, the papers reported on one truck that had accidentally rammed into an emu. “The body became wedged in the steering gear of the truck,” they said, “’which swerved and demolished half a chain of fencing.”

4Bad Press Killed The Operation

As the Emu War stumbled clumsily forward, more and more people were starting to agree that it was a terrible idea. Including George Pearce.

The newspapers were reporting that barely any emus had been killed, with some counts as low as 20. The numbers probably weren’t true. Meredith himself claimed they’d taken out 300 emus already. But most people believed the papers. George Pearce’s PR grab had turned into a public embarrassment.

On November 8, Pearce gave in. He tried to distance himself from his own decision. He told the press he didn’t want to set a precedent by letting men kill emus with machines guns.

The Emu War, by now, was a total joke. When Pearce gave the order, Perth’s Daily News joked, “No treaty of peace has been concluded, and the emus remain in possession of disputed territory.” The militia had barely made a dent in the 10,000 emus that were plaguing the countryside. Now they were going home, and the settlers would be stuck with the bill.

3The Farmers Kept The Fight Alive

Major Meredith didn’t stand down. When Pearce gave the order to come back, he kept fighting. Meredith and two of his gunners stayed out west, patrolling the fence and shooting every emu he saw.

The settlers wouldn’t accept it, either. If Pearce wouldn’t support them, they needed a new champion. And they found one in Labor Party Secretary George Lambert. A farmer sent Lambert a telegram. “Gunners withdrawn. Imperative they should stay. Emus beginning to reappear in large numbers,” it read. “Can you do anything?”

Lambert was the right man to call. He railed against his fellow politicians for dropping out of the Emu War. And he didn’t mince his words. “It is all very well for the city ‘pussy-foots’ in the House of Representatives to make little of the attempt to eradicated emus with machine guns,” Lambert barked. But the farmers, he told them, didn’t think it was so funny.

Major Meredith and the Premier of Western Australia backed Lambert up. The Emu War was working, they insisted, and they were going to keep fighting. Whether the people in the cities liked it or not.

2The Second Emu War Went Better

George Pearce reapproved the Emu War on November 11. “Such strong representations have been made to me,” he announced, “that I have approved of the machine gun party returning to the wheat belt to destroy thousands of emus which are causing tremendous damage to crops.” The Emu War was back on.

Meredith and his men learned from their mistakes. On the first day alone, they took out 300 emus, more than they’d killed in their first attempt altogether. As the battle dragged on, the emus grew more careful, but the militia still managed to kill an average of 100 emus per week.

The Emu War, now, was going so well that other farmers were begging for militia help. People in other areas soon called George Lambert as well, telling him that they had emu problems of their own and that they wanted Meredith and his men.

By the time Meredith turned home, he and his men had killed an estimated 3,500 emus. By then, though, the city papers had run out of emu jokes and lost interest. A single paper reported on the end of the campaign, buried in the “Country News” section.

“Farmers now breathe again,” it reported. The emus were too scared to go anywhere near the farms, and the crops were thriving. “Major Meredith and his gun crew,” the paper said, “are to be congratulated.”

1The Farmers Wanted To Do It Again

The emus didn’t stay away forever. Three years later, the country was hit with another drought. The emus came back.

The farmers wanted another Emu War, but the government wasn’t about to go down that road again. By now, the story of the war had spread around the world. Australia had been turned into a laughing-stock, and they didn’t want to make it any worse than it already was.

Instead, they started a “beak bonus system.” The government put a bounty on every beak torn away from the corpse of a dead emu. It worked much better. In the first two months alone, 13,000 emus died, and, by the end of the first year, 30,000 beaks were claimed. By the ’50s, Australia set up a 135-mile-long “emu-proof fence,” and the days of emu raids came to an end.

The farmers in the west, though, didn’t forget the Emu War. Up until the fence was built, they called for militia every time the emus created a problem. To the world, Major Meredith and his men were a joke. But to these farmers, they were the men who had saved their livelihood.

Estimates suggest that up to a billion animals perished. The human lives lost are steadily climbing to 30. Millions of hectares. Countless homes. All consumed by one of the worst disasters in living memory.

It’s difficult to believe that anything great emerged from the horrifying Australian 2019-2020 fire season. But with the last decade marred by moral failure, global conflict, and petty division, the things pulled from the fire showed that humanity can still respond with great compassion and heroism.

See Also: 10 Terrifying Tales From The World’s Most Apocalyptic Fires

10 A Dachshund Survived The NSW Fires

Wilbur was unaware of the fame gathering around him. While news channels flashed his photo and appealed to the public to be on the lookout for him, the dog was trying to survive in the wild. The odds were against him. Wilbur was a small dachshund lost in the lethal fires of New South Wales.

It’s unclear when he became separated from his owner but he was found early in December. Firefighters battling the blaze near Termeil noticed a small creature wandering alone between the flames. They rescued the dog and kept him overnight with their team. Thankfully, Wilbur’s owner quickly responded when the firefighters made it known that they had found a sausage dog.

The traumatized dachshund was delighted to see his owner. For the man, called Paul, the moment was bitter-sweet. He was still looking for his other dog and asked the firefighters to keep an eye out for a beagle called Olly. Incredibly, just a few hours later, Olly was also found. Both dogs were unhurt and happy to be back with their owner.

9 Versace Drops The Use Of Kangaroo Leather

Two years ago, Versace announced that real fur was meh. The Italian fashion house guaranteed that none of their accessories or clothes would ever again contain the pelt pulled off an animal. However, they continued to use real leather. Moreover, kangaroo leather.

The kangaroo is viewed by many as the symbol of Australia and the number of wild animals being culled every year for leather doesn’t sit well with animal activists. Campaign groups have been asking fashion houses for a long time to boycott kangaroo products and finally, in 2020, Versace agreed.

The decision to remove kangaroo leather from its designs weren’t directly caused by the Australian fires. The pressure from activists had been ongoing for a while and Versace already withdrew any related products from its 2019 collection. However, the announcement was made this year and was seen as a welcome gesture at a time when the future of kangaroos is grappling with an unprecedented threat.

8 Six Koalas Saved By Firefighters

The koala is one of Australia’s icons. The 2019-2020 fire season didn’t help their fight against extinction. The numbers are heartbreaking. Tens of thousands of koalas have been burned alive. Hundreds were euthanazed and hundreds more are fighting for their lives in clinics. Stories abound of civilians and firefighters plucking the scorched koalas from trees, homes and off the roads.

One story concerned firefighters who came across a group of koalas at Cudlee Creek. They were fighting fires that would ultimately destroy over 100 buildings and homes and kill one man. During the dramatic hours that followed, the koalas were collected and taken to safety. Many praised the firefighters for their humanity. Battling the fast-moving fire meant that they were pressed for each second but the firefighters decided to stop and help the defenseless marsupials.

A photo of the koalas has since gone viral. The image shows the creatures, relatively unharmed, huddling together in a hallway. One even hugged the wall like a favorite eucalyptus tree. Koalas are cursed with cute looks in the sense that their portly bodies cannot escape a quick blaze. If it weren’t for these firefighters, and Koala Rescue taking them in, they would’ve joined the disaster’s terrible statistics.

7An Unknown Fish Trap

In 2019, UNESCO declared an aquaculture system in Australia as a World Heritage Site. The Gunditjmara people used the structure to harvest eels 6,600 years ago. Just to put that into perspective—the site is older than the Egyptian pyramids. The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is located in south-west Victoria and includes an intricate system of stone-lined pools, channels, and homes.

The fires arrived a few days before Christmas. A lightning strike boosted the flames and despite a gigantic firefighting effort, the blaze dragged across 7000 hectares (17,297 acres) of land. Including the brand-new UNESCO ruins.

Traditional owners of the site weren’t too concerned that the fire would damage the ruins directly. The stones were almost heat-resistant. The real danger came from falling trees. Some grew inside the aquaculture buildings. If the fire toppled any, chances were that the structure could be weakened by roots being unearthed or smashed by a toppling trunk. When the blaze passed, a group visited to see if any trees had crashed onto the structure. Luckily, none did. Even more surprisingly, the blaze had cleared vegetation to reveal an unknown section of the trapping complex.

Located near Lake Condah, the section was a smaller system with a channel running 25 meters (27 yards) along the ground. Until the fire, this part of the traps went undetected despite sitting 20 meters (22 yards) from a track leading to the main site. In this case, at least, something valuable wasn’t destroyed by the blaze but instead emerged more complete than it was before.

6Millions Were Raised

As the world watched Australia burn, those with deep purses weren’t idle. Celeste Barber is an Australian comedian whose fundraiser attracted huge donations and pledges from celebrities. All told, the sum totaled A$22 million. Stars like Pink, Kylie Minogue, and Nicole Kidman were among those who joined the call to support Barber’s Facebook fundraiser. Incredibly, the eye-watering amount took less than 48 hours to accumulate.

Perhaps more noteworthy are the people without personal fortunes who found creative ways to support Australia. One was a woman named Kaylen Ward. The 20-year-old sex worker took to Instagram and promised a personal nude photograph to anyone who donated $10 or more to her designated fire relief charities. Four days later, she raised $700,000. None of the money reached her. Ward insisted that her admirers must pay the charities directly and send her the receipt to get their nude pictures. For her efforts she earned the name “The Naked Philanthropist” and Instagram deleted her account.

5 The Koala Dogs

Narcotics dogs. Sure. Bomb-sniffing canines, okay. But koala dogs? As weird as it sounds, they do exist. When a handler barks, “Koala, find!” the four-footed detectives jump into action and start searching for fur and droppings. Their job is to keep track of the eucalyptus-munchers during good times and bad.

These are undoubtedly bad times and the dogs track under dangerous circumstances. Nearly all of them wear mittens to protect their paws from burns and sharp debris. Thus far, they’ve saved dozens of koalas. Two of the highly-trained canines are Taylor and Bear. Taylor is a four-year-old with eight koalas under her belt and Bear has such a prolific streak that Tom Hanks quipped he was going to make a movie about him.

Every koala saved is a treasure, but there simply aren’t enough dogs to help the thousands of marsupials that are still in trouble. Despite this, these service canines diligently perform their duties against an insurmountable tragedy, using their noses to find the bodies, the injured and the hiding koalas their handlers might miss.

4 Sheepdog Snoots 220 Sheep To Safety

Stephen Hill gave no thought of enjoying New Year’s Eve. That night he was facing a terrible loss. The fires were closing in on the small town of Corryong, in Victoria. He looked around his cousin’s farm where he worked and realized the sheep were in danger. Worse, it was a dark night, the flock was being difficult and he needed help.

He turned to Patsy. He found the shepherd mix on the property and loaded her on a four-wheeler before setting off to the field where the sheep were in trouble. Despite the heat, bleating and fire-related smells the dog never faltered. She followed Hill’s commands and herded the frightened animals to a safe barn. It wasn’t an easy task, not with a large number of sheep involved nor the proximity of the massive blaze. Indeed, the flames claimed six sheep. But in the end, Patsy nudged more than 220 animals to safety.

Hill gave the dog sole credit for the flock’s survival, an act that meant the world to him. He’s one of the countless people still badly affected by the genocidal losses suffered among domestic and wild animals alike.

3 Request For Shelters Triggered A Global Response

The inferno left hundreds of animals orphaned or without a home. A large portion of the destitute babies are marsupials that need warmth and a mother’s pouch to survive. This season’s tide of orphans sparked one of the disaster’s most unusual and cozy rescue efforts.

Animal Rescue Craft Guild is based in Australia. Long before the fires came, the organization whipped up shelters, including nests and slings, for young wildlife. The babies would then snuggle in their new homes made from knitted, crocheted and cloth items. When the crisis hit, the animals came pouring into shelters and the Guild appealed to their Facebook members to help sew and knit the items. The response was overwhelming.

From all over the world, thousands of knitters and crafters united. They made koala mittens for burned paws, kangaroo pouches for joeys, blankets for animals to sleep on and interestingly, something called bat wraps. These are exactly what they sound like. You take a baby bat and you wrap the kid up nice and comfy. Possums, sugar gliders and wombats also received their crafted goodies.

2The Government Airdropped Food For Wallabies

The Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby is an endangered species in New South Wales, one of the worst-hit areas. The fires connected with their vulnerability like a baseball bat. The blaze undoubtedly killed many and left the survivors in a barren landscape without food. Large-scale starvation set in. Before the fire season, the animals had also been struggling against Australia’s ongoing drought.

The government of NSW decided to help. Operation Rock Wallaby collected tons of vegetables, mostly carrots, and nutritious sweet potatoes. The planes first took off early in January and dropped the food over a dozen wallaby colonies. The project will continue until the marsupials can support themselves with renewed natural food resources and water.

The image of one of the wallabies was shared with the public, showing both the devastation and the success of the aid program. Like many others, the creature leaped at the chance to gorge on the veggies and this particular one was photographed enjoying a carrot.

1 A Secret Mission

When a park ranger found a tree in 1994, it sent shock waves through the botanical world. The Wollemi Pine existed before many dinosaurs and was thought to be extinct. Before the Jurassic wonder’s rediscovery, the tree was known only from 200-million-year-old fossils. The pine found in 1994 was not alone. A grove of the rare, so-called “Dinosaur Trees” stood nearby.

The grove is located in a gorge in the Blue Mountains. But the precise spot remains a closely guarded secret. Visitors and poachers would exterminate the living fossils. Botanical gardens around the world propagate the species but the Australian batch, numbering less than 200, is the last wild Wollemi Pines in the world.

When the blaze came, the prehistoric treasure was directly in its path. While keeping the location’s hidden status in mind, conservationists organized a secret mission to save the trees. Despite the drama of extinction edging closer to the grove and that the mission itself was unprecedented in the history of environmental protection, the rescuers kept everything low key. Publicity could’ve led unwanted guests straight to the grove.

Air tankers circled the pines and drew a ring of fire retardant around them. Specialist firefighters were airlifted to the gorge. Once on the ground, they rigged an irrigation system to keep the trees moist. But at one point, the team had to retreat. The fire had arrived. After a few days filled with thick smoke, everyone waited for the haze to clear to see if their plan had worked.

Incredibly, the pines were safe. A little charred, but relatively unscathed. The mission had been a phenomenal success.

Australia is generally known for the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House, and the diverse species of the outback. However, the continent’s encapsulating history is as dark as it is captivating. Australia’s story is one of blood and violence.

With its famous past as a penal colony, the Australia of old was not for the faint of heart. Bushrangers and con men alike ravaged the continent, committing unspeakable acts. The following list examines ten seemingly forgotten 19th-century massacres and mass murders that riveted both the headlines of Australia as well as the world stage.

10 The Baby-Farming Murderer

While tending to a communal garden in Moreland Rd, Coburg, a man unearthed the lifeless remains of a baby girl. Following a police investigation, a second child’s body was discovered, with tape tightly wound around the boy’s neck. The atrocity of the sickening crime ultimately led police to Frances Lydia Alice Knorr, a 23-year-old English migrant working as a domestic servant. Baby farming, as it was known, was a common occupation where working-class women were hired to care for so-called “illegitimate children.”

Much public opposition arose subsequent to Knorr’s trial and death sentence, particularly from women and church groups. The escalating, emotion-charged outpouring of sympathy became an immense burden for the executioner, Thomas Jones, who felt pressure and disdain from both the public and his wife. Two days before Jones was to meet Knorr at the gallows, the hangman slit his own throat. Nevertheless, Jones was replaced by a man named Roberts, who saw to it that Knorr would hang in the early hours of January 15, 1894.

In spite of Knorr’s incessant claims of innocence, authorities discovered a penned confession in her cell following her execution that read, “I express a strong desire that this statement be made public, with the hope that my fate will not only be a warning to others but also act as a deterrent to those who are perhaps carrying on the same practice.” Further inquiries later revealed that Knorr was responsible for more than a dozen other infants’ deaths.^[1]

9 Stringybark Creek Massacre

In October 1878, the Kelly Gang was on the run, hiding out in the wild bushlands of Northeast Victoria. With their whereabouts narrowed down, four officers were dispatched to apprehend the murderous outlaws, eventually setting up camp at Stringybark Creek. Unbeknownst to them, the Kelly Gang was well aware of their location, patiently waiting in the brush for an opportune moment to execute their ambush. In a profound lapse of judgment, Sergeant Kennedy and Constable Scanlan left the camp at dawn to search for the gang, leaving their partners, Lonigan and McIntyre, behind, vulnerable and outnumbered.

The Kelly Gang ambushed the camp in the late afternoon, whereupon they immediately executed Lonigan. Over the next several hours, McIntyre was held at gunpoint, knowing full well the fate that awaited his unsuspecting comrades. Upon their return, a barrage of gunfire erupted. While Constable Scanlan’s mortally wounded body fell to the ground, a weaponless McIntyre leaped onto a horse that had bolted in the onslaught, leaving a doomed Kennedy in the dust.

Public outrage to the triple murder was swift and tremendous, with the State of Victoria officially declaring the Kelly Gang as outlaws; thus, it was legal to shoot and kill Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne, and Steve Hart on sight without an attempted arrest.^[2]

Surprisingly, the gang would go on to live another two years despite overwhelming odds mobilized against them. In the years that followed, locals began flocking to Stringybark Creek to observe a morbid piece of Australian history.

8 Joseph Thyer

It was a Monday afternoon, October 12, 1896, when 17-year-old George Albert Thyer returned to the family farm after spending the weekend away. Immediately upon his arrival, George noticed something hanging in the stockyard a mere 91 meters (300 ft) from the entrance of his home. It was the body of his father, 44-year-old Joseph Thyer.

Frantic and distraught, George ran inside the house, only to find the bloody and disfigured bodies of his mother and younger siblings—36-year-old Elizabeth, Florence (12), Edward (9), Alexander (7), Charlie (6), and Roy (4 months)—their skulls split open with an unknown blunt weapon. Three of the victims were struck multiple times with such a force that the top parts of their skulls were entirely removed. Joseph Thyer had killed them all before hanging himself.

It would be another two days until their corpses were removed from the gruesome scene. In the three blistering days that elapsed, the “strongest disinfectants” were required by the undertaker in an attempt to lessen the haunting and repulsive stench of death and decay.

Settlers in neighboring localities were beside themselves after hearing the news of such butchery at the hands of Mr. Thyer, a well-known, reserved, and highly respected man in Cavanagh, SA. In spite of his perceived character, Joseph Thyer had a violent temper and had been complaining of “pains in his head” in the weeks leading up to the murders. On October 14, Elizabeth and Florence were placed in a casket, while the four boys were put into two separate caskets, two boys per coffin. The four caskets were then lowered into the ground, together in one grave.^[3]

Fittingly, the body of the craven savage who snuffed out their lives was buried alone in a separate plot.

7 Glover Family Tragedy

With the nation still reeling from the Thyer family murder, a similar act of unspeakable violence would shock the quiet little community of Triabunna in 1898. On the first day of March, watchhouse-keeper George Glover was notified by his eldest daughter that his wife, Mary Catherine, and their six younger children were missing. Over the next several hours, local businesses suspended operations, with every man in town volunteering to form a search party. Before dusk that evening, the town’s worst nightmare had come to fruition. Combing through the brush with his trusted spaniel, storekeeper Edward Ford found the bodies of the six youths—ages ranging from four months to 11 years—lying together, covered in bloodied blankets and shawls.^[4]

Their throats had been slit from ear to ear, and based on appearances, it was theorized that the children had been sleeping or were drugged at the time of their murder. Upon news of the slayings, great anxiety overtook the town, not due to Mrs. Glover’s well-being but to her unknown whereabouts. She had been described as a peculiar woman with a history of depression, and locals worried that Mary was eluding capture with the intention of murdering her two eldest daughters.

Such speculations, however, would be rendered forever moot upon the discovery of her body more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) outside of town. Lying facedown in shallow water not more than 0.6 meters (2 ft) deep, it appeared that Mary had attempted, but failed, to cut her own throat prior to drowning. All that remained for detectives, in the end, was rolled up cash in Mary’s pockets, the murder weapon stained in children’s blood, and an eternity of unanswered questions.

6 Thomas Jeffries

On December 31, 1825, Thomas Jeffries broke out of the Launceston Watch House in Van Diemen’s Land (present-day Tasmania). He was accompanied by fellow jailbirds John Perry, James Hopkins, and a man identified only as “Russel.” That evening, the four men broke into the residence of a respected settler named Tibbs, who, along with his wife and male servant, soon found themselves being tied up by the infernal intruders. In that moment, a struggle ensued, and shots were fired.

As the two innocent men’s bullet-riddled bodies lay lifeless on the ground, Mrs. Tibbs and her infant son were led to the forest in the dark of night. In the seclusion of the woodlands, Jeffries forcefully snatched the five-month-old from his mother’s shielding arms and bashed the baby to death against a tree.

The dreadful degree of the true horrors of that evening became apparent among the locals a week later, when the infant’s battered and decayed remains were discovered. What was left of the baby was nothing more than mangled flesh and bone, torn apart by the carnivorous animals of the terrain. During this time, Jeffries and his partners remained at large, with the exception of Russel, who was shot and partly eaten by the others.

Jeffries and Perry would be captured a few days later after the murder of Magnus Bakie, for which they stood trial. During court testimony, Mrs. Tibbs—who was raped and left to die in the woods—collapsed upon seeing her child’s killers. On May 4, 1826, Jeffries and Perry were led to the gallows and hanged.^[5]

5 Frederick Bailey Deeming

Conman and murderer Frederick Bailey Deeming had already spent the majority of his life in and out of prison by the time he married Marie James in England in 1881. Having four children with Marie did not stop Deeming’s bigamist heart from marrying Helen Matheson in 1890. As if juggling two families wasn’t enough, Mr. Lady-Killer (no pun intended) added another notch to his blissful union belt in September 1891 to Emily Lydia Mather.

Three months later, the newlyweds moved to Windsor, Australia, where they rented a brick cottage which still stands at 57 Andrew Street. A little over a week later, on Christmas Day, the ever-so-charming philanderer bludgeoned Emily, slit her throat, and then buried her naked body beneath the hearthstone of their bedroom. The following month, the cold-blooded killer sailed to Sydney, where he immediately became engaged to Kate Rounsefell. Fortunately for his newfound love interest, their whirlwind romance would be short-lived. Due to a putrid smell emitting from the floorboards of the Windsor cottage, Emily’s decomposing remains were discovered, leading to Deeming’s arrest in Western Australia.

When the news made its way to England, Emily’s grieving mother recalled floor work her murderous son-in-law had done at his former home in Rainhill. Due to this, local authorities excavated the floors of the couple’s previous residence, only to discover Deeming’s first wife Marie and their four young children entombed in concrete.^[6]

The savagery of the crimes became a media spectacle, with the press accusing Deeming of being Jack the Ripper. Overnight, newspapers nationwide labeled him “The Jack the Ripper of the Southern Seas.” In all the time during his trial, he never once confessed to or denied being the Ripper, possibly due to the fact that he undoubtedly relished the fame. On May 23, 1892, Deeming enjoyed one last cigar as he walked to the gallows in front of a crowd of 12,000 enthusiastic spectators.

4 The Gatton Murders

On the night of December 26, 1898, Michael Murphy, 29, and his sisters Norah, 27, and Theresa “Ellen,” 19, made their way to a dance in the small town of Gatton. The following morning, the three had yet to return to the Murphy farm, prompting a search that would lead to their grisly discovery in a secluded pasture. Lying neatly beside one another with their feet pointing to the west, it appeared that the siblings’ blood-soaked corpses were posed by their killer. While ants crawled across their lifeless bodies, investigators noted that the girls’ hands had been bound and that they had possibly been raped with the brass-mounted handle of a riding whip. Furthermore, all three were bludgeoned to such an extent that Norah’s brains masked her face. The callous killer didn’t even bother to spare the Murphys’ horse, which was found shot in the head a few yards away.

The subsequent investigation by authorities was the epitome of incompetence, given the myriad of illogical mistakes. Case in point, it took two days for investigators from Brisbane to arrive at the scene of the crime, and by that time, curious locals had unreservedly contaminated the crime scene. Throughout years of speculation, one man has been singled out as the likely culprit: Thomas Day, a local butcher who was seen lurking near the crime scene on the night of the murders. Weeks prior to the Murphy slayings, Day was suspected in the killing of 15-year-old Alfred Stephen Hill, whose pony was also found with a single bullet to the head. In 1900, Day shot himself in the head and died in the Sydney Hospital. More than a century later, the Gatton murders remain unsolved.^[7]

3 Cape Grim Massacre

In the early 1800s, the majority of the Aboriginal people of Northwestern Tasmania were hunted down and slaughtered in an attempted genocide led by VDL Company hunting expeditions. According to the company’s chief agent, Robert Curr, “We have to lament that our own countrymen consider the massacre of these people an honour.” By December 1827, complacency among the Aboriginal people had ceased, and reprisal attacks, something seldom seen before, were escalating.

Following the murder of numerous Aboriginal men who died protecting their women from rape, the natives exacted their revenge by driving over 100 sheep belonging to the company off a cliff. This led to a “company punitive expedition” in 1828, resulting in the butchery of 12 Aboriginals following a sneak attack. The bloodshed only worsened in the days that followed, when the same party of murderous shepherds encountered another group of Aboriginal people.

On that day, February 10, around 30 terrified natives were systematically massacred before their bodies were thrown off the 60-meter (200 ft) cliff in what is now remembered as the Cape Grim Massacre. Such appalling brutality continued in the years to come, with the lieutenant governor declaring martial law, which permitted the capture or murder of Aboriginal people. By 1830, an estimated 60 Aboriginals of the northwest tribe remained.^[8]

2 The Maria Shipwreck Massacre

One of the most controversial events in Australian maritime history began on June 26, 1840, when 26 souls left Port Adelaide on the brigantine Maria. The vessel was bound for Hobart under Captain William Smith. However, it foundered for unknown reasons off the coast of Kingston.

With fading hope for Maria’s anticipated arrival, reports began circulating that all aboard were murdered by natives after “a massacre site” was discovered along the coastline. This spawned a party of men to investigate, all of whom described finding “legs, arms and parts of bodies partially covered with sand and strewn in all directions.” Wedding rings found on the slain bodies of two female passengers were recovered in addition to the men describing how they had witnessed a native wearing a sailor’s jacket.

As the public’s ire progressively escalated, Governor George Gawler instructed Major Thomas O’Halloran to lead a team on horseback and perpetrate retribution upon those responsible. Specifically, once identifying those he believed to be the culprits, Major O’Halloran was ordered to serenely “explain to the blacks the nature of your conduct . . . and you will deliberately and formally cause sentence of death to be executed by shooting or hanging.” The major did just that, and on August 25 of that year, two natives were hanged beside the graves of their alleged victims.^[9]

1 Cullin-La-Ringo Massacre

As we have already seen, the colonial government was committed to ridding the land of the Aboriginal people through callous and unwarranted bloodshed. Such was the case in October 1861, when members of the local Gayiri where shot by Jesse Gregson, along with Second Lieutenant Patrick and his Native Police Troopers. Gregson, who managed the Rainworth station, had accused the tribesmen of stealing a flock of sheep.

On October 17, in a retaliatory response, local tribesmen slaughtered 19 white settlers, including women and children, in what is now known as the Cullin-la-ringo massacre, the largest mass murder of whites by Aboriginals in Australian history. It became apparent only after the senseless carnage that Gregson’s sheep were not stolen, as they were later found having wandered from their pasture. Nonetheless, another retaliatory attack was inevitable. Soon after the massacre at Cullin-la-ringo, seven Native Police detachments were deployed by the colonial Queensland government, resulting in the slaughter of 300 to 370 Aborigines.^[10]

Champion sportsman Thomas Wentworth Wills was Australia’s first cricketer of significance. Being one of the few survivors who narrowly escaped death at Cullin-la-ringo, Wills witnessed the murder of his father on that fateful October day. The frame of mind of the once nationally acclaimed athlete was forever detrimentally changed, and he resorted to alcohol to escape his torments. By 1869, his career was in ruins, and his temperament was degrading. Wills was eventually confined at the Kew Lunatic Asylum, and on May 2, 1880, he took his own life at the age of 43.

Australians are well-known for their sense of humor. We like to poke fun at everyone. We laugh at each other, we laugh at ourselves, and we love to poke fun at bureaucracy. So it’s no surprise that some of our quirkiest tourist attractions actually started out as a bit of a joke.

From teddy bears and garden gnomes planted in fun, which have turned into thriving colonies, to a submarine in an inland park, our Aussie sense of humor shines through in some of our funniest tourist attractions.

10 Submarine In An Inland Park

A rural Australian park is the last place you would expect to find a submarine. Yet the HMAS Otway is a major tourist attraction in the New South Wales town of Holbrook. The town was renamed in 1915 after their resident war hero, Lieutenant Norman Holbrook, who was the first submariner to receive the Victoria Cross (VC) during World War I.

Like residents of many rural towns bypassed by the highway during the 1990s, Holbrook residents were looking for a unique tourist attraction to bring passing visitors to their town. When the mayor suggested acquiring a submarine, the townspeople initially thought he was joking. However, the idea of establishing a memorial to submariners in honor of their own VC recipient soon caught on.

After much community fundraising and a generous bequest from the Holbrook family, the upper parts of the outer casings and the fins of the decommissioned HMAS Otway were purchased.

The submarine was moved to Germanton Park in Holbrook, where it has become a popular tourist attraction. The complex has a submarine museum including a mock interior where visitors can gain an insight into what life was like on a submarine.^[1]

9 Mad Max 2 Museum

We all have our favorite movies. Some us can even become a little over-passionate, collecting memorabilia and watching reruns. However, one man’s passion saw him move halfway around the world to open a museum in the most unlikely place.

Scenes from the earlier Mad Max movies were shot in the remote New South Wales outback near the sparsely populated town of Silverton. (The 2016 Australian census showed that the town had a population of just 50.) Yet it was to Silverton that an Englishman named Adrian Bennett came in 2009 to fuel his obsession with the movie Mad Max 2.

He spent his time collecting actual props, relics, and memorabilia from his favorite movie. The collection has grown into a full-scale museum, where Mad Max fans can not only view his collection but also learn more about the filming of the movie on the location in which it was set.^[2]

8 Utes In The Paddock

The Holden Ute is a true Australian icon. The work vehicle can be found all over rural Australia. The outback town of Condobolin has a unique outdoor art gallery depicting well-known Australian icons, all using the Holden Ute as its medium.

A number of years ago, a local landholder decided to turn a rusty old Ute into an artwork. Artists were then invited to repurpose rusty car bodies into art forms, which attract many tourists to the district each year. Twenty cars are upended or suspended at precarious angles to depict the life and characters of the Australian bush.

Here, you will see Australian identities such as Clancy of the Overflow and Dame Edna Everage sitting on a traditional Australian “dunny.” Aussie icons represented include a larger-than-life bottle of Bundaberg Rum and a mammoth jar of vegemite.

The display was originally installed on a remote property 30 kilometers (19 mi) from Condobolin but has since been moved to the outskirts of the town, where it is more accessible to tourists.^[3]

7 The Principality Of Hutt River

Every town has its eccentric residents, but one West Australian farmer’s persistence in seceding from the Commonwealth of Australia has become a quirky tourist attraction. A bureaucratic row over agricultural taxes in 1970 saw the farmer take things into his own hands. Leonard Casley (pictured above) simply established his own country, the Principality Of Hutt River, on his 75-square-kilometer (29 mi²) property near the town of Geraldton.

The Australian government has never recognized the sovereignty of the principality, but “Prince Leonard” still maintained his own postage stamps and currency until his death in 2019. Queen Elizabeth II, however, obviously enjoyed the joke, sending Leonard a letter of congratulation on the principality’s 46th anniversary. Prince Leonard abdicated in 2017 in favor of his son, Graeme, who continues to rule over the micronation.

The town of Nain has been established as the main administrative center of the principality. Here, tourists who want an extra passport stamp can collect one from the Principality of Hutt River while they view the historic displays.^[4]

6 Gnomesville

A cheeky community protest over proposed council roadworks has snowballed into a quirky tourist attraction for the West Australian town of Wellington Mill.

When the council announced controversial plans to construct a roundabout in 1995, a couple of cheeky residents “claimed the plot” by placing a couple of garden gnomes on the proposed site as a bit of a joke. The joke soon spread, and the gnomes quickly multiplied. Today, there are an estimated 5,000 gnomes residing in “Gnomesville,” which has become an unlikely tourist attraction.

Here, you will find gnomes enjoying just about every recreational activity, from fishing to music to sporting matches. Visitors are invited to add their own gnome to the growing collection, as long it is marked with where it came from.^[5]

5 Tantanoola Tiger

A stuffed tiger in a glass case, believed to be responsible for a livestock killing spree, is an unlikely tourist attraction in the small South Australian town of Tantanoola.

During the 1890s, an unknown creature was terrorizing livestock in the small rural town. Tales of sheep being eaten whole and a creature leaving footprints 10 centimeters (4 in) in diameter were widely circulated in the national media. Locals became fearful that the unknown predator might begin to prey on humans. The creature was dubbed the “Tantanoola Tiger” following reported sightings of a striped feline in bushes surrounding the village.

A large reward was posted for its capture, and unsuccessful shooting parties set out to hunt and kill the creature. Casts of the pawprints suggested it was a wild dog, not a tiger.

Eventually, in 1895, the large creature was shot and killed. There was much speculation about the animal’s exact species. It appeared to be a dog, but not of any known breed. It wasn’t a dingo, and it looked remarkably like a wolf. It was later determined to be an Arabian wolf. No one knows how it came to be in Tantanoola.

A taxidermist was called in to stuff the infamous creature, which was enclosed in a glass case and paraded around for viewing at the price of a few shillings. The famous “tiger” even became the mascot for the local football team early in the 20th century. Today, it is a somewhat morbid tourist attraction in the Tantanoola Tiger Hotel near Mount Gambier.^[6]

4 There’s A Bear In There!

A bend in the long, winding highway linking inland New South Wales with the South Coast is perhaps the last place you would expect to find a children’s tourist attraction.

Like many of Australia’s quirkier attractions, Pooh Bear’s Corner was established through one individual’s imagination and eventually took off. A local family from Crookwell spotted a disused cave halfway down Clyde Mountain on their frequent trips to the coast in the early 1970s. The parents concocted the story that the cave was, in fact, home to A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh for the amusement of their children.

They soon began leaving stuffed bears and handwritten signs at the spot on their journey down the mountain. The idea soon caught on, and others began leaving bears at the site, which became known as Pooh Bear’s Corner. Eventually, the local council caught onto the idea, erecting a permanent sign at the attraction.

Children and kids at heart still look out for the teddy bears congregating in Pooh’s cave on their way down Clyde Mountain today.^[7]

3 Bungendore Teddy Bear Colony

Along the highway from the rural town of Bungendore to Queanbeyan, just outside Canberra, teddy bears once again provide a unique tourist attraction. For several kilometers along the roadside, tourists can stop to see the proliferation of teddy bears hanging from trees. Some are relatively new, others are looking somewhat sand- and weather-worn.

The first teddy bears appeared in the late 1980s. Since then, their numbers appear to be growing at a significantly higher rate than the native koalas that inhabit the area. Visitors to the colony regularly make their own additions to the Bungendore teddy bear colony.

How the teddy bear colony began is somewhat of a mystery. Theories suggest the first bears arrived to protest the removal of trees, threatening the local koala habitat. Another theory is that the first bears were a memorial shrine to a young person tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.

The true origins of the teddy bear colony may be lost in time. However, like many quirky Australian tourist attractions, the trend caught on and has continued to grow to amuse passing motorists.^[8]

2 Coila Prawn Girl

Driving along the Princes Highway between the Southern NSW coastal towns of Moruya and Tuross, motorists probably never gave the tiny fuel stop at Coila a second glance. At least, that was the case until 2013, when the new owner came up with an eye-catching idea to encourage passing drivers to stop and maybe buy some local prawns.

The “Coila Prawn Girl” has become somewhat of a local icon. The bikini-clad mannequin is tied to a roadside advertising sign and has been successful in encouraging motorists to stop. The mannequin has also made the news for being the victim of a couple of abductions over the past couple of years.

Tourists frequently stop to pose for a photo with the bizarre attraction. The eccentric owner has recently added a pink Cessna plane nose-diving into the tarmac as an added incentive for an unusual photo stop.^[9]

1 The Dunny At Humpty-Doo

The mere name of the Northern Territory outback town of Humpty-Doo raises a bit of a giggle with visitors. One local larrikin has taken the humor to a new level.

Waldo Bayley, the local gift shop owner, also writes Australian bush poetry, funny little pieces that poke fun at everyone and everything. Not content with simply reciting his ditties to visitors to the shop, he devised an hilarious way to deliver his prose.

Within the shop, he has set up a traditional “bush dunny,” the small, wooden outhouse which once housed the lavatory in the backyard of every Australian home. Waldo actually sits on the dunny to deliver his poetry from the depths of the “thunderbox.” Once again, something that started out as a bit of a joke has turned into a tourist attraction which draws tourists to enjoy a little Aussie humor.^[10]

Lesley Connor is a retired newspaper editor who provides travel articles to online publications and through her travel blog.