Thread: The boomerang – a lethal weapon or just a myth?

A friend of mine runs an aboriginal artifact /souvenir stall in a weekend market in conjunction with an aboriginal partner who sources the stock from Queensland aboriginals.

We spent an afternoon on a beach at the Gold Coast testing several returning boomerangs.
One thing that would go against weapon use is that they have to be thrown into the wind or nearly to return ( to be more precise at about 10degrees to the right of the wind direction if right handed). We found that the ideal size was about 40CM and up.
The other thing is that returning boomerangs only return if they rise at the end of the flight , as they come back in a similar way.

This all accorded with the advice given by the aboriginal that they were used to usually scare birds such as ducks up from lakes, and the returning feature was to prevent getting feet wet or eaten by a croc in recovering stuff.
Regards Philip A

Tonic I had heard that same story. Next time I'm out in central Australia I'll ask the locals their correct name for a kangaroo and if that story has any substance. Someone must know the genuine story.

I had a feeling kangaroo meant horse, I heard the story not long ago just cant quite remember the actual details

An extract from a book by Edward John Eyre, Bob



Chapter IV.

Feb 6, 2013 ... The Wangn or wangno (the boomerang of Eastern and kiley of Western Australia) is another simple but destructive weapon, in the hands of the ...
ebooks.adelaide.edu.au





The weapons of the natives are simple and rudimental in character, but varied in their kind and make, according to the purposes for which they may be required, or the local circumstances of the district in which they are used. The spear, which is the chief weapon of offence over all the known parts of the continent, is of two kinds, one kind is used with the throwing stick, and the other is thrown out of the hand; of each there are four varieties that I am acquainted with. Of those launched with the throwing stick there are—1, the kiko, or reed spear, pointed with hard wood; 2, the kiero, or hard wood spear, with about two feet of the flower-stem of the grass-tree jointed to the upper end; 3, a similar weapon, with five or six jags cut in the solid wood of the point upon one side; and 4, the light hard wood spear of Port Lincoln, and the coast to the eastward, where a single barb is spliced on at the extreme point with the sinew of the emu or the kangaroo: each spear averages from six to eight feet in length, and is thrown with facility and precision to distances, varying from thirty to one hundred yards, according to the kind made use of, and the skill of the native in using it.

Plate II. Native Weapons

Of the large spear there is—1, the karkuroo, or smooth heavy spear, made of the gum-scrub; 2, the same description of weapon, barbed with fragments of flint or quartz; 3, another variety, having five or six jags cut at the point, upon one side; and 4, a similar weapon, with the same number of barbs cut upon both sides of the point: each of them is from twelve to fourteen feet long, and is thrown with most deadly force and accuracy to distances of from thirty to forty feet. The fishing spear has already been described. The Nga-wa-onk, or throwing stick is from twenty to twenty-six inches in length, and is of a very similar character throughout the continent, varying a little in width or shape according to the fashion of particular districts. It consists of a piece of hard wood, broad about the middle, flattened and sometimes hollowed on the inside, and tapering to either extremity; at the point the tooth of a kangaroo is tied and gummed on, turning downwards like a hook; the opposite end has a lump of pitch with a flint set in it, moulded round so as to form a knob, which prevents the hand from slipping whilst it is being used, or it is wound round with string made of the fur of the opossum for the same purpose. In either case it is held by the lower part in the palm of the hand, clasped firmly by the three lower fingers, with its upper part resting between the fore-finger and the next; the head of the spear, in which is a small hole, is fitted to the kangaroo tooth, and then coming down between the fore-finger and thumb, is firmly grasped for throwing; the arm is then drawn back, the weapon levelled to the eye, a quivering motion given to it to steady it, and it is hurled with a rapidity, force, and precision quite incredible.



The Wangn or wangno (the boomerang of Eastern and kiley of Western Australia) is another simple but destructive weapon, in the hands of the native. It consists of a thin, flat, curved piece of hard wood, about two feet long, made out of the acacia pendula or gum-scrub, the raspberry-jam wood, or any other of a similar character, a branch or limb is selected which has naturally the requisite curve (an angle from one hundred to one hundred and thirty degrees) and is dressed down to a proper shape and thickness, and rounded somewhat at the bend, those whose angles are slightly obtuse, are usually thrown with the sharp edge against the wind, and go circling through the air with amazing velocity, and to a great height and distance, describing nearly a parabola and descending again at the foot of the person who throws them; those which have the largest obtuse angle are thrown generally against the ground from which they bound up to a great height, and with much force. With both, the natives are able to hit distant objects with accuracy, either in hunting or in war; in the latter case this weapon is particularly dangerous, as it is almost impossible, even when it is seen in the air, to tell which way it will go, or where descend. I once nearly had my arm broken by a wangno, whilst standing within a yard of the native who threw it, and looking out purposely for it.

Plate III. Native Weapons

The (katta twirris) or two-edged sword is a formidable weapon, used among the tribes to the north of Adelaide, exclusively for war; another weapon, common among the same tribes, is the katta, a round chisel-pointed stick, about three feet long, and used principally in pitched battles between two individuals.
Another weapon is an angular piece of hard wood, pointed and shaped very much like a miner’s pick, the longer or handle-end being rounded and carved, to give a firmer grasp; another dreadful weapon, intended for close combat, is made out of hard wood, from two to three feet long, straight and with the handle rounded and carved for the grasp, which has an immense pointed knob at the end; the bwirri, is also a weapon of hard wood about two feet long, rather slight and merely smoothed in the handle, with a round knob at the extremity, it is principally thrown, and with very great precision; but is more generally used after game than in warfare.
The shield (tar-ram) is made out of the bark or wood of the gum-tree, and varies in shape and device, the ordinary shield is about two or two and a half feet long, from eight to eighteen inches across, and tapering from the middle towards the extremities, two holes are made near the centre, through which a piece of wood is bent for a handle; shields are always carved and painted in time of war.
The implements made use of by the natives are not very numerous, and their general characteristics are nearly the same all over the continent. The native hatchet is made of a very hard greenish-looking stone, rubbed to an edge on either side; it is fixed in the cleft of a stick, or a branch is doubled round it, and either tied or gummed to prevent its slipping. The throwing sticks have generally a sharp piece of quartz or flint gummed on at the lower end, which is used as a knife or chisel; flints or muscle shells are used for skinning animals, dissecting food, cutting hair, etc.

Plate IV. Native Implements

The ngak-ko, a strong chisel-pointed stick, from three to four feet long, is used for dissecting the larger animals and fish, for digging grubs out of the trees, for making holes to get out opossums, etc., for stripping bark, ascending trees, for cutting bark canoes, and a variety of other useful purposes. The rod for noosing ducks, (tat-tat-ko) and other wild fowl, is about sixteen feet long, and consists, in its lower part, for the first ten feet, of hard wood, tapering like an ordinary spear, to this is cemented with resin, a joint of tolerably strong reed about sixteen inches long, at the upper end of this is inserted and cemented with wax, a tapering rod of hard wood, three feet long and very similar to the top joint of a fly-fishing rod, to this is spliced a fine springy and strong top, of about eighteen inches in length, at the end of which is bound a piece of fine strong cord, which works with a running noose upon the tapering end of the instrument. Needles are made from the fibula of the emu or kangaroo, and are pointed at one end by being rubbed on a stone, they are used in sewing as we use a shoemaker’s awl, the hole is bored and the thread put through with the hand; the thread is made of the sinews of the emu and kangaroo. The netting needle is a little round bit of stick or reed, about the size of a lead pencil, round which the string is wound, no mesh is used, the eye and hand enabling the native to net with the utmost regularity, speed, and neatness.
The nets for hunting, for carrying their effects or food, for making belts for the waist, or bandages for the head, are all made from the tendons or fur of animals, or from the fibres of plants. In the former, the sinews of the kangaroo or emu, and the fur of opossums and other similar animals, are used; in the latter, a species of rush, the fibres of the root of the mallow, the fibres of the root of the broad flag-reed, etc. and in some parts of the continent, the fibrous bark of trees. The materials are prepared for use by being soaked in water and carded with the teeth and hands, or by being chewed or rubbed.

Originally Posted by Landy Smurf

I had a feeling kangaroo meant horse, I heard the story not long ago just cant quite remember the actual details

Could be this, Bob



Guugu Yimidhirr (Aboriginal language of northeast Australia) gaurru.]
Word History: A widely held belief has it that the word kangaroo comes from an Australian Aboriginal word meaning "I don't know." This is in fact untrue. The word was first recorded in 1770 by Captain James Cook, when he landed to make repairs along the northeast coast of Australia. In 1820, one Captain Phillip K. King recorded a different word for the animal, written "mee-nuah." As a result, it was assumed that Captain Cook had been mistaken, and the myth grew up that what he had heard was a word meaning "I don't know" (presumably as the answer to a question in English that had not been understood). Recent linguistic fieldwork, however, has confirmed the existence of a word gangurru in the northeast Aboriginal language of Guugu Yimidhirr, referring to a species of kangaroo. What Captain King heard may have been their word minha, meaning "edible animal

Originally Posted by Vesko

Yes, it is a wonderful Australian invention, but really... have anyone seen a person able to kill an animal for supper using a boomerang?

As far as i am aware boomerangs were mainly used to distract prey while you throw a spear at them but i'm sure with different tribes it was used differently and made for a specific purpose.

Originally Posted by djam1

Boomerangs were not necessarily an Australian invention they were found in Egypt as well.
The returning boomerang was used for taking out waterbirds as they lifted off water when startled.
The throwing sticks or Kali as they were referred to in Central Australia were used for breaking the legs of Kangaroos making them easier to catch.
Returning boomerangs even though you can buy them in the tourist shops and be told all about them by some well meaning white fella were never used in the Centre.

An interesting extract from" the native tribes of Central Australia", by Baldwin Spencer., Bob


The common form of boomerang found amongst the Central tribes has a flattened and more or less curved form measuring from 60–90 cm. in length along the curve. The latter is always an open one and may be symmetrical, though, most often, it is not so, and one part of the weapon will be slightly curved or even straight, while the main curve is confined to the other part. In some cases one end will curve very distinctly in one direction while the other will have a slight but unmistakable curve in the opposite direction. The blade is always of approximately uniform width along its whole length.


The twist, which is characteristic of what are called the “return boomerangs,” is quite wanting in all the Central weapons, which are not made with the object of their returning to the thrower. The workmanship of the weapon varies to a large extent; the better ones are made in the north-east of the Arunta tribe and these are marked by regular grooves running, side by side, along the length of the curve on the more convex side; the other surface is marked by wider and more uneven grooves. In the poorer specimens the grooves are less even and the whole weapon is more clumsy in make and appearance.


The Luritcha boomerangs are undoubtedly rougher than those of the Arunta and northern tribes, 1 there being but little attempt to smooth down the flatter side, while the grooves on the other face are roughly cut. In one of these the end held in the hand is narrower than the opposite one, and the grooves terminate abruptly at a distance of 12 cm. from the extremity. This part of the weapon has a roughly scratched series of lines to allow apparently, of a better grip being secured.




As a general rule the boomerangs are coated with red ochre and, in addition, they may be ornamented at the end which is not held with a few rings of white kaolin or yellow ochre. Some of them are certainly made of mulga, but others of a wood both lighter in colour and weight. It is apparently this form of boomerang which Roth refers to as the “fluted” form and which he says is introduced into the Queensland tribes, with whom he deals, from the west.


In just the same way, whilst the ornate boomerang is the characteristic one of the Queensland natives, it is, amongst the Central tribes, but rarely met with, and then as a general rule only in the southern parts. It evidently travels from the interior of Queensland by way of a trade route which follows down the courses of the streams which flow from the interior of Queensland southwards to the Lake Eyre basin, just as in early times the natives themselves did, when they spread over the country.


This ornate boomerang is met with largely amongst the
Urabunna tribe, and now and again one is seen in the hands of a man belonging to the southern Arunta. The length of one of these is 88 cm. along the curve which is a very open one, and there is neither a sharp bend nor any twist in the blade, in both of which respects the weapon agrees with the first described. The width of the blade varies from 6 cm. in the middle, from which it tapers off at either end, to 3 cm. in its narrowest part. One surface is always more convex than the other, and it is in fact more distinctly rounded than the grooved form. There is no trace on the convex surface of any grooves, but, from end to end, run series of incised patterns shaped like the figure 8 laid on its side, the interior of each loop being filled in with slanting lines. From end to end of the boomerang there run three rows of these, each row containing nine figures.


In addition short curved lines are incised along the margin of the blade corresponding in position to some, but not all of the lines of figures. At each end on the part free from the latter, irregular scratches have been made so as to afford a better grip, and along the convex margin nineteen crosses have been roughly cut, but these are apparently not part of the original design. The flat side is somewhat roughly cut, and no red ochre, such as is never wanting in the case of the first form found in the Centre, has been used, the wood employed being mulga

Wow guys, you are wonderful!