Shirley Wong

And so, in the end, the government had all these rabbit fences across the country that were serving no purpose.

Over the years, the fences began to disintegrate.

In the 1800s, wool was a critical material for the British textile industry.

But Great Britain didn't have enough land to produce the sheep themselves.

So they turned their colony down under.

That's Trish Fitzsimmons, co-author of the book Fleeced, Unraveling the History of Wool and War.

Trish says that for the first time ever, the reddish landscape of Australia began to be dotted with little white sheep.

Australian wool was particularly critical for the British military.

Wool was the best material for the battlefield because it was waterproof and flame resistant.

And by the time World War I rolled around, it was clear that the countries with access to wool had a huge strategic advantage.

But for farmers, the situation was a nightmare.

Dingos are highly effective pack hunters.

They are pretty much Australia's version of the big bad wolf.

And farmers would wake up and find that dozens of their sheep had been killed or maimed in dingo attacks.

First, they created incentive programs that encouraged farmers to kill dingoes.

Soon, there were professional dingo hunters and trappers who were paid bounties for every dingo they killed.

And so the rabbit-proof fences were given a dingo renovation.

They joined the old rabbit fences together and raised them up to a height that could keep dingoes out.

Wow, there's some wallabies over there.

I see them galloping around.