116 



BOMERANG. 



Station ;"• and by one p. m. arrived at " Dabee,' 

 which is pleasantly situated near the Cudgegong 

 river, which, I believe, empties itself into the 

 Macquarie. The situation of this farm is pic- 

 turesque, being nearly surrounded by high- 

 wooded and broken ranges of mountains. On 

 approaching the house, several of the aborigines 

 were seen encamped ; we rode up to them, and 

 found an assemblage of several, of different ages 

 and sexes : the males were armed with spears, 

 clubs, and the " womera," or " bomerang ;" 

 this last is a peculiar weapon thrown by the 

 hand, and possesses the apparent anomalous 

 property of striking an object in the opposite 

 direction from that in which it is at first pro- 

 pelled. 



In the " United Service Journal," for June 

 1833, Mr. Wilkinson gives the following expla- 

 nation of this curious weapon : 



" The Bommarang may be formed of any 

 tough, heavy wood, and is about three-eighths of 

 an inch thick in the middle, gradually tapering 

 off towards the extremities, and rounded on each 

 side from the centre until brought to an edge. 



" Constmctioti. — Let A B E iSe the arc of a 

 circle : the chord A D E = 18 inches : the 

 perpendicular B D = 7 inches : the width 



