Name/TitleCarved Indigenous Australian hardwood boomerang
About this objectBoomerangs were used predominantly as hunting weapons, but also in fighting and ceremonial events. Thought to have been developed from the club, the boomerang demonstrates a significant development in Indigenous technology. The boomerang provided Indigenous Australians with a more efficient hunting tool that enabled people to hunt their prey from a greater distance and, in the hands of a skilled user, with greater precision. The aerodynamic shape of the boomerang allows it to fly in a virtually straight line and hit its target in an effort to either kill or maim prey.
In addition to their use in hunting, the boomerang also plays a significant role in Indigenous culture and ceremonies as a percussive musical instrument. Boomerangs can also be used as an aid in lighting a fire. Since European settlement, the boomerang has become significant as an iconic and quintessentially Australian item that is sought after by tourists as well as more serious art collectors.
(Source: Australian Museum)
MakerUnknown
Maker RoleMaker
Date Madec1800
Period19th century
Place MadeAustralia
Medium and MaterialsAustralian hardwood
Object TypeIndigenous History
Object numberSF001118
Copyright Licence
Attribution - Non-commercial - No Derivatives (cc)
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The mug is decorated with an underglaze and a blue transfer print. On the body, it is titled ‘Emigrants to Australia’. This type of body and glaze was discontinued by 1840. Comparison of the handle shape and the profile of the foot, point to the attribution of manufacture by the Davenport Factory.
Delta was a ship-rigged vessel with two decks and three masts. It was built in Dordrecht, Netherlands in 1839 at the shipyard of Jan Schouten and registered in the same port. Its hull was constructed of oak and sheathed in ‘yellow metal’. Delta was owned by H. van der Sande at the time of its loss and was engaged as a cargo trader.
The Delta carried 29 crew and passengers, while sailing from Melbourne to Batavia in ballast when wrecked at Kenn Reefs on 30 May 1854 whilst under the command of Captain J.G. Kunst. This vessel loss supports the pattern of shipwrecks located on a well-travelled shipping route that was poorly charted until the mid-nineteenth century. The crew of the Delta could see four other shipwrecks at Kenn Reefs at the time of their vessel’s loss.
Important image of a ship associated with Matthew Flinders, that would shortly become one of the most famous early shipwrecks in eastern Australian waters. This is a fine ship’s portrait, by one of the great exponents of the art