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| Sports in Australia - The Emu Hunt |
IN the absence of more legitimate sport, the emu, the largest of the Australian feathered tribes, forms an object of chase amongst the bushmen of the far interior, and a good run after an emu is by no means uninteresting or uninviting. A full grown bird stands about five feet high, and gets over the ground with amazing rapidity. The mode of hunting is similar to that of kangarooing, and requires an equally good mount and swift dogs. Across a level country an emu will, for four or five miles, run swifter than either dog or horse, but on being closely pressed it imitates the ostrich, and, thrusting its head into a bush or scrub, becomes an easy prey to the hunter. We have known many instances of their capture by stockmen well mounted, who used their whips with as much effect on the the birds as dogs could inflict. To any cit troubled with ennui and not frightened of a 'burster,' an emu hunt may be strongly recommended as one of the best cures.
Source: Emu Hunt (1864, November 16). Illustrated Sydney News (NSW : 1853 - 1872), p. 4.
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