•20-2 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Their weapons are the spear, club, or nulla nulla, boomereng, 

 dundumel, and the bundi, of which drawings are given in the tail- 

 piece at the end of the last chapter. Their spears are about ten feet 

 long, and very slender, made of cane or wood tapering to a point, 

 which is barbed. They are light, and one would scarcely be inclined 

 to believe that they could be flung with any force ; nor could they 

 without the aid of the wammera, a straight flat stick, three feet in 

 length, terminating in a socket of bone or hide, into which the end of 

 the spear is fixed. The wammera is grasped in the right hand by 

 three fingers, the spear lying between the fore-finger and thumb. 

 Previous to throwing it, a tremulous or vibratory motion is given to 

 it, which is supposed to add to the accuracy of the aim ; in projecting 

 the spear, the wammera is retained in the hand, and the use of this 

 simple contrivance adds greatly to the projectile force given to the 

 spear. They are well practised in the use of these weapons. 



The nulla nulla, or uta, is from thirty to thirty-six inches in length, 

 the handle being of a size to be conveniently grasped. 



The dundumel is a weapon used by the natives of the interior ; it 

 has a curved flat handle thirty inches in length, and terminates in a 

 projection not unlike a hatchet ; it is thrown from the hand before 

 coming to close quarters, and usually at a very short distance. 



But the most extraordinary weapon is the boomereng. This is a 

 flat stick, three feet long and two inches wide by three quarters of an 

 inch thick, curved or crooked in the centre, forming an obtuse angle. 

 At first sight one would conclude it was a wooden sword, very rudely 

 and clumsily made ; indeed one of the early navigators took it for 

 such. It is an implement used both for war and in the chase. In 

 the hands of a native it is a missile efficient for both, and is made to 

 describe some most extraordinary curves and movements. It is 

 grasped at one end in the right hand, and is thrown sickle- wise, 

 either upwards into the air, or downwards so as to strike the ground 

 at some distance from the thrower. In the first case it flies with 

 a rotary motion, as its shape would indicate; after ascending to a 

 great height in the air, it suddenly returns in an elliptical orbit to a 

 spot near its starting-point. The natives in its use are enabled to 

 strike objects which lie behind others with great precision, and to 

 reach those near as if by a back-stroke, by throwing it at a particular 

 angle. The diagram at the end of the chapter, exhibits the curves at 

 the angles of 22°, 45°, and 65°, respectively, which I have obtained in 

 making experiments with it. Some facts which were spoken of in its 

 use, are remarkable. On throwing it downwards on the ground, it 



