Illustration 33: E Stone Tomahawks
The head is of a very dark and hard green stone, ground to a fine edge, and is set between the two arms of the handle and held in place with spinifex gum.
The handle is formed by bending round (probably by means of fire) a single strip of wood.
The two arms of the handle are sometimes held together by a band of hair-string.
The iron tomahawks are similarly made.
3. BOOMERANGS.—These weapons are now so well known that a description of the ordinary pattern would be superfluous. However, near Dwarf Well we found one of uncommon shape; and until reading a book on a Queensland tribe I was unaware of its use, nor could I find any one who had seen one of like shape. The weapon in question is the Beaked or Hooked boomerang (F).
Mr. W. Roth, in his Ethnological Studies Among the North-West Central Queensland Aborigines, says:—
It appears that when warding off a blow from a boomerang of any description the defence consists in holding forwards and vertically any stick or shield that comes to hand, and moving it more or less outwards, right or left as the case may be, thus causing the missile on contact to glance to one or the other side. The hook is intended to counteract the movement of defence by catching on the defending stick around which it swings and, with the increased impetus so produced, making sure of striking the one attacked.