BY FRIT2 NOETLING, M.A., PH.D. 71 



in the appearance of the ends if one had been rough or 

 notched, and we must therefore a.ssume that both Norman 

 and Cald?r examined hunting sticks that were similar to 

 No. 3, that is tc say, thinner at one end than the other, but 

 not notched. This would indicate that there were really 

 two kinds of hunting sticks -in use, viz., one kind having 

 both ends almost of the same thickness, with one of them 

 notched, while the other was smooth ; the second kind hav- 

 ing one end much thinner than the other, and both ends 

 sriiooth. It is impossible to say whether these two kinds 

 Tvere used simultaneously, or wlaether they were manufac- 

 tured by different tribes. It ig also impossible to say 

 whether they wei-e distinguished by different names or not ; 

 as already said I do not feel inclined to think that such a 

 small and rather immaterial difference was sufficient to give 

 rise to different names. 



One of th? most interesting observations as to the way 

 the lughrana was thrown is that of Backhouse, who states 

 that tney threw it "with a rotatory motion." This is con- 

 firmed by Breton, who says : "It can be thrown with ease 

 forty yards, and in its progress through the air goes hori- 

 zontally, describing the same kind of circailar motion that 

 the boomerang docs, with the like whirring noise." 



It is, therefore, absolutely certain that the lughrana 

 was primarily a missile, which was thrown horizontally, or 

 almost horizontally, with a rotatory motion like a boom- 

 erang. This can only be done if it is gripped at one end, 

 and not in the middle. The lughrana v/as therefore, when 

 used as a missile, thrown quite differently from the way the 

 spear was thrown, and its character appears, therefore, to 

 be quite different from the latter weapon. 



Unfortunatelv, the statements as to its use are scanty, 

 and somewhat conflicting. If it was used as a missile, was 

 it used in that capacity in war as well as in hunting, or 

 was it solely used in hunting expeditions, in. order to kill 

 animals and birds at a distance? 



The various accounts seem to agree well on these 

 points. The encounters between Aborigines and Europeans 

 Avere numerous, and murders of Europeans onlv too fre- 

 ■quent, but there is not a single instance on record that 

 during these conflicts the lughrana was used. The killin; 

 of the enemy was always effected by means of the spear. 

 In fact, the account of the first encounter between Eviro- 

 peans and Aborigines on May 3rd, 1804, near Risdon, lays 



