Native Australian Hunting Stick

I wondered if our Australian members could help with this one please. This stick was purchased by my family in Australia around 1910 while they were living there for a period of about 4 years. They went to Australia with the impression that they were going to make a fortune from sheep farming but in reality they lost pretty much everything. They came back to the U.K. in 1914 and during the voyage WW1 was declared. At this point 2 German warships started stopping British merchant ships in the Mediterranean, looting the contents, then sinking the ships. The Captain who was taking my family home stopped the ship in Alexandria, Egypt to allow any passengers who wished to get off. He then made the dangerous part of the journey across the Med at night without any lights and uneventfully.

I was wondering what is the proper name for this stick and how it would be used to hunt animals? Is it thrown or do you hit the animal truncheon fashion with it? Thank-you for any info.

I think what you have is a throwing stick. There is a proper name for it, but we always called it a 'throwing stick'. It's used as a lever for throwing a spear. It's use increases the distance, speed and kinetic energy of a spear. The back end of the spear sits on the 'cupped' end of the throwing stick (held horizontally) and lies along the top of it. The thrower holds the spear in place with the tip of a finger and thumb then uses the throwing stick to launch the spear.

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/ima...hrow-spear.jpg[COLOR="black"]

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I believe the Aboriginal name for it is a Woomera. There are variations in shape from tribe to tribe and region to region from what I've seen.

Thanks for that Paul which sounds perfectly logical. The only information which I have has been handed down through the family and things get muddled and confused over the years. My Grandfather was only 10 years old when he arrived back in the U.K. from Australia and his parents were virtually penniless. Did the American Indians use something similar?

I think you will find that is a Nulla Nulla an aboriginal club a Woomera is flat

Dick

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Originally Posted by Paul S.

There is a proper name for it

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Atlatl

Nulla Nulla is Correct, a Woomera and the Atlati have small slots to hold the spear, but they do double up as clubs when the need arises. Learnt a lot in the 1970s off a fella called Malcolm Douglas who used to go around schools presenting a show on indigenous Australians.

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Originally Posted by Aussie48

I think you will find that is a Nulla Nulla an aboriginal club a Woomera is flat

Dick

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I do have a photograph of the Aboriginal servant who gave it to my family before they returning to the U.K. together with some other items like boomerangs which have sadly got lost over the years. If I find the photograph I'll post it.

Pity they got out of sheep then, that would have been around the 20yr drought.If they had been able to stick it out another 10 yr they may have done well. Depending on their location etc.

All this talk of "Global Warming". If what happened back then was happening now the world would be coming to an end.

My Grandfather always thought that he had high levels of Arsenic in his body because it used to be one of the constituents of sheep dip years ago. I was told/led to believe that once Arsenic is in your body it stays there for years and is not necessarily fatal provided it stays below a certain level? Although only a young boy at the time he helped out with the work on the sheep farm.