Aboriginal spears brought to England by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago have been repatriated to Australia.
The four weapons were presented in the Wren Library at Cambridge University’s Trinity College for the ‘historic day’, with the three flags of Australia displayed at the front of the room.
The permanent return of the spears to the La Perouse Aboriginal community was agreed in March last year, following a campaign and a formal repatriation request.
However, it comes against the backlash of scrutiny against Captain Cook’s methods of exploration in the 1700s, with many divided over whether he should be remembered as a heroic explorer who ‘epitomised the Age of Enlightenment in which he lived’ or if he should be seen as a symbol of colonial oppression.
(L-R)Elisabeth Bowes, Leonard Hill, Stephen Smith and Noeleen Timbery with four Aboriginal spears that were brought to England by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago and have now been repatriated to Australia in a ceremony at Trinity College in Cambridge
The permanent return of the spears to the La Perouse Aboriginal community was agreed in March last year, following a campaign and a formal repatriation request
When Cook landed on the shores at Kamay (Botany Bay) in 1770 his arrival was resisted by Gweagal men. Soon afterwards, the British crew took 40 spears from a local camp, of which four were later given to Trinity College in Cambridge
When Cook landed on the shores at Kamay (Botany Bay) in 1770 his arrival was resisted by Gweagal men, the indigenous Australian people of the area.
Soon afterwards, the British crew took 40 spears from a local camp, of which four were later given to Trinity College in Cambridge.
They have been part of the college’s collection since then, and from 1914 were cared for by Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA).
Captain Cook, who was born in the Marton area of Middlesbrough, was the first European explorer to set foot in Australia.
He also mapped areas including New Zealand and Hawaii, where he was stabbed to death following an altercation with islanders in 1779.
However, Dame Sally Davies, the Master of Trinity, has agreed that it was the ‘right decision’ to return the spears.
She added that Trinity College was ‘committed to reviewing the complex legacies of the British empire, not least in our collections’.
The four spears, which are all that remain of the original 40 spears, are regarded by the Gweagal as national treasures and the tribe still uses a very similar multi-pronged spear to fish today.
Members of the La Perouse Aboriginal Community are presented with the so-called Gweagal Spears, in the presence of the Australian High Commissioner and representatives of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
They have been part of the college’s collection since then, and from 1914 were cared for by Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Noeleen Timbery, La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council and Dame Sally Davies, Master of Trinity look at the Gweagal Spears
Ray Ingrey, of La Perouse Aboriginal community group the Gujaga Foundation, said it was a ‘momentous occasion for our community’.
He said there had been a ‘long campaign to have the spears returned, there’s been about three generations working on this’.
‘We’re finally here after all that time. We look forward to bringing them home.’
Stephen Smith, Australian High Commissioner to the UK, said it was ‘an historic day’.
He continued: ‘In the modern era, collecting institutions are much more amenable to discussions with indigenous communities whether they’re from Australia or elsewhere.
‘It’s been a great feature of the time that I’ve spent in the Australian community that many collecting institutions in the UK are keen to engage in those discussions about return of artefacts or repatriation of remains.’
Professor Nicholas Thomas, director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Trinity Fellow, said that the spears were of ‘exceptional significance’ and were ‘taken without the consent of the people’.
‘It’s right now that they go back,’ he said.
‘They will mean more, their significance will be enlarged when they’re back in Australia.’
The Gweagal Spears are displayed at Trinity College Cambridge. Professor Nicholas Thomas, director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Trinity Fellow, said that the spears were of ‘exceptional significance’ and were ‘taken without the consent of the people’
The Gweagal Spears are displayed at Trinity College Cambridge. Some of the spears were returned temporarily to Australia in 2015, and again in 2020, for the first time since they were taken by Captain Cook
Members of the La Perouse Aboriginal Community are presented with the Gweagal Spears. The spears will now be displayed at a new visitor centre which is to be built at Kurnell, Kamay
Some of the spears were returned temporarily to Australia in 2015, and again in 2020, for the first time since they were taken by Captain Cook.
They went on display at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, as part of two exhibitions exploring frontier encounters.
The spears will now be displayed at a new visitor centre which is to be built at Kurnell, Kamay.
Earlier this year, the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum signed agreements for the temporary return to Ghana of 32 objects they claim are ‘indelibly linked to British colonial history’.
Experts believe the deal could become a formula for handing over other disputed works, such as loaning the Elgin Marbles back to Athens.
The adventures of Captain Cook have been criticed in recent years, and statues of the explorer have been torn down in both Australia and Canada during protests against colonialism.
However, he remains a highly respected among some, British academic Robert Tombs said Cook ‘epitomised the Age of Enlightenment in which he lived’.
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