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Boomerang

Wood carving has always been part of Aboriginal culture. Men carved wood for many purposes – tools for hunting or gathering food, axes and knives for building shelters, spears and clubs for protection of their lives and territory, objects for ceremony and to mark sacred sites.

Artists source the timber on country, walking from tree to tree to find the right piece for the desired functional outcome. Once found, it is cut and then brought back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded and finally finished.

Boomerangs from this region are made from a variety of materials. Lighter weight woods such as Milkwood and Sandpaper Fig are used for “come back” style boomerangs. These tools are best used for birds, bats, and fruit in trees. Heavier woods such as that from Eucalypts, Ironwood and Kerosene wood are used for a more deadly boomerang on larger animals. These you don’t want returning!

Artists prefer to source branches which have a natural bend so that the wooden grain follows around the curved boomerang shape. This results in a stronger tool which can be used repeatedly.