Historical traces of boomerangs have been found throughout the world. Boomerangs are considered by many to be the earliest "heavier-than-air" flying machines invented by human beings. Australian Aboriginal boomerangs have been found as old as ten thousand years old, but older hunting boomerangs have been discovered throughout Europe. The famed King Tutankhamen of Egypt had an extensive collection
of boomerangs over 2000 years ago. Although historians are not certain of the exact origin of the first boomerang, it is speculated that the boomerang was developed from a flattened throwing stick, used by early hunters. The returning boomerang was most likely discovered by accident by an early hunter trying to fine tune a hunting stick. The modern boomerang is most commonly associated with Australia because it has been preserved in its highest state of development by Australian Aborigines. Since the Australian Aborigines are one of the few cultures in history never to develop a bow and arrow, their heavy dependence on the boomerang for hunting has ensured its preservation. In Australian culture, there is some confusion as to if boomerangs were used for hunting. There clearly were "throwing sticks" used in aboriginal societies for hunting and some scholars do not think that boomerangs were generally used as a waepon or for hunting. Other scholars note reports of tribes fighting with boomerangs and boomerangs being used tom help start fires, dig in the desert and a range of purposes related to survival in the desert. The modern boomerang has been refined over time to state of the art boomerang materials such as paxolin and carbon fibre. The use of finnish birch wood has been found to be useful for more durable wooden boomerangs. Aircraft windfoil design programs and Computer Aided Drawing programs are used to optimize flight characteristics. Modern competition boomerangs can stay aloft for up to several minutes time and distances over 200 yards. The History of Boomerangs 101
April 18, 2015 • Kevin Verbael • History of Boomerangs
Contrary to popular belief, the boomerang did not originate in Australia. Although historians are not certain of the exact origin of the first boomerang, it is speculated that the boomerang was developed from a flattened throwing stick,...
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WORLD OF THE BOOMERANG
Across the continents and time. Aboriginal man Combo of Bogan River 1836
Photographer: Reproduction © Courtesy of the Research Library, Australian Museum
Think of Australia and a boomerang may well come to mind as one of the country's most unique and distinctive emblems. In the shorthand of our memories the boomerang is as Australian as the kangaroo, koala or Vegemite. No-one was surprised to see Australia's 2000 Olympics logo featuring boomerangs. More surprising, for some, is the fact that boomerangs were used for many thousands of years in other parts of the world as well. A wooden boomerang found by archaeologists in Little Salt Spring in Florida, USA, was broken and discarded by its owner some 9,000 years ago. In the 1986 excavation of a limestone cave in southern Poland, a complete boomerang, beautifully carved from mammoth tusk and about 23,000 years old, was recovered (see reference). Remember, Central Europe was then in the grip of the last Ice Age with a climate similar to northern Siberia or the north of Canada today. Trees were absent and people used bones and tusks of animals to make their tools, implements and weapons. Few of us associate the boomerang with ancient Egypt in Northern Africa or Sumer at the head of the Persian Gulf. Yet the boomerang was used in these countries. The Sumerians, who invented the first writing system, had the graphic symbol for such an object some three thousand years before Christ was born. In 624 the Isidore of Sevilla, Archbishop and Christian scholar of late antiquity, wrote about boomerangs used at that time around the Mediterranean Sea and possibly in southern Europe. In fact, the boomerang was known outside Australia at least until the nineteenth century. The Hopi people of Arizona, USA hunted rabbits with it. The Indian boomerang, known as valai tadis, was used in several areas of the Subcontinent for hunting hares, deer and partridges. Oooooo
THE BOOMERANG RETURNS, OBVIOUSLY
Aboriginal hunters managed to curb the boomerang's returning nature to turn it into an effective hunting weapon. Boomerang E92398
Photographer: © Australian Museum
Returning is the boomerang's inherent property in much the same way as hopping is the distinctive trait of the kangaroo. Aboriginal hunters did a great deal of practical engineering and carving to eliminate or reduce, what was for them, an awkward behaviour. Their genius was not in the invention of such an extraordinary toy, but the way they managed to curb the boomerang's returning nature sufficiently to turn it into an effective hunting weapon. Yet to westerners the returning behaviour was an irresistible attraction. Interestingly, boomerangs were adopted by Sydney Aborigines primarily to meet the curiosity of the European public. It happened about fourteen years after the British settlement at Sydney Cove was established. One early demonstration, with real life drama, was reported by the Sydney Gazette in 23 December 1804. The apparent fight that took place between Aborigines at Farm Cove in Sydney was probably staged. Bungary, an Aboriginal man, well-known amongst European settlers, threw the boomerang at his adversary. The ‘incredible force’ with which the boomerang travelled, and the severe injury it inflicted, astonished observers. In the years and decades that followed, boomerang throwing demonstrations became one of the few aspects of Aboriginal tradition in which the white public showed any interest. As a result, the boomerang's role gradually shifted from hunting weapon to toy and souvenir. It is in this context that the boomerang has been adopted by non-Aboriginal Australians. Boomerang clubs, in their hundreds, are now established in many countries around the world. Boomerang throwing is gaining wide recognition in international sport competitions. Inventors have come up with numerous different designs, using modern materials such as fibreglass and plastic. Toy boomerangs are being refined to fly further, stay in the air longer and to make multiple circles before falling to the ground. All this attention has served to reduce the boomerang to symbolic and recreational roles, obscuring its roots and history. INTRODUCTION-
The boomerang that we are commonly aware of today is a boomerang that returns back to the thrower. To those most familiar with boomerangs, it is actually called the returning boomerang. However, there is a second group of non-returning boomerangs that were used for hand to hand fighting, hunting, music and entertainment by the Aborigines. A great deal of confusion exists about boomerangs because these groups get mixed. For example, there is a commonly held impression that a boomerang can be thrown to conk an enemy on the head and then return to the thrower to be caught. This is patently false. An understanding of the derivation of the word "boomerang" (which has been subject to revisionist history) helps to clear up this confusion. Boomerangs are both rich in tradition and useful as modern day sport. An extended glossary of terms describe both their physical characteristics and use. For the Aborigines, boomerangs are both an item of sport and an important part of their culture. HISTORY-
The Non Returning Boomerang-
The boomerang was invented between 25,000 to 50,000 years ago. The oldest boomerang, discovered in Poland, is 20,000 years old. It was the first man made object heavier than air to fly. The first boomerangs were used for hunting and killing. The hunting type could be hurled at distances of 150 to 200 yards. They hovered just above the ground at high speed killing small animals or stunning larger ones like kangaroos. These boomerangs were up to three feet across weighing 5 to 10 pounds. They were made from the roots of the mulga or wattle tree. This is because boomerangs would chip or break off if the grain of the wood didn't have the same pattern as the shape of the boomerang. The roots of these trees already had the right shape. This killing boomerang did not return. The Returning Boomerang-
The Aborigines are credited with inventing the returning boomerang. The returning boomerang probably developed over time by the Aborigines through trial and error. Prehistoric man at first would throw stones or sticks. At some point he realized that a curved stick actually created more accuracy and velocity. He then further refined and shaped these sticks to produce what became known as the hunting or fighting boomerang. At some point, certain of these boomerangs would return back to the direction of the thrower. Again, through further refinement, these lightweight boomerangs were actually caught by the first inventor of the returning boomerang. The returning boomerang, however, was always used for sport by the Aborigines. CATEGORIES -
Believe it or not, the returning boomerang is actually less accur
