Trinity College Cambridge has returned four spears taken from the Gweagal People of Botany Bay, Australia, by Captain James Cook and his crew during his first encounter with indigenous Australians in 1770. Cook recorded that several spears were thrown at his men during the encounter, causing the Endevour (Cook's ship) to fire its guns. Following this about forty spears were 'confiscated' from the Gwaegal people. Botanist Joseph Banks, who was part of the expedition, recorded finding a greenish goo on the tips of several spears, which caused him to fear they might have been poisoned, though he later concluded that the goo was Seaweed, and that the spears had been used in fishing.
The spears were presented to Trinity College by Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, in 1771, along with a collection of other items Cook had collected on his journey. In the early twentieth century they were passed on the the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. They have twice been loaned to museums in Australia for displays, with the decision to return them permanently being made following discussions between the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the La Perouse Aboriginal Community.
Three of the spears being returned are multi-tipped fishing spears, a design still used today in Australia, while the fourth is a single-tipped hunting spear. They will eventually be housed in custom built museum at Kurnell on the Kamay Headland in Botany Bay, the site where the first encounter between the Gweagal people and Cook's crew occurred. Until that is built, they will be housed at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, at the request of the La Perouse Aboriginal Community.
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