1888. A. Seth, `Encyclopaedia Britannica,' vol. xxiv. p. 530, col. 2:
"He [Archbishop Whately] was an adept in various savage sports, more especially in throwing the boomerang."
1889. P. Beveridge, `Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina,' p. 49:
"Boomerang: a thin piece of wood, having the shape of a parabola, about eighteen inches or two feet long from point to point, the curve being on the thin side. Of the broad sides of the missile one is slightly convex, the other is flat. The thin sides are worked down finely to blunt edges. The peculiar curve of the missile gives it the property of returning to the feet of the thrower. It is a dangerous instrument in a melee. Of course the wood from which it is made is highly seasoned by fire. It is therefore nearly as hard as flint."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 49:
[A full description of the use of the boomerang is given, with illustrations.]
"The boomerang is a curved, somewhat flat, and slender weapon, made from a hard and heavy wood, Brigalow (<i>Acacia excelsa</i>), or Myall (<i>Acacia pendula</i>), but the best one I found was made of a lighter kind of wood. The curving of the boomerang, which often approaches a right angle, must be natural, and in the wood itself. One side is perfectly flat, and the other slightly rounded. The ends are pointed."
1890. G. W. Rusden, `Proceedings, Royal Colonial Institute,' vol. xxii. p. 62:
"You hardly ever see an allusion in the English Press to the boomerang which does not refer to it as a weapon of war which returns to the thrower, whereas the returning boomerang is not a weapon of war, and the boomerang which is a weapon of war does not return to the thrower. There are many kinds of boomerang—some for deadly strife, some for throwing at game, and the returning boomerang, which is framed only for amusement. If a native had no other missile at hand, he would dispatch it at a flight of ducks. Its circular course, however, makes it unfit for such a purpose, and there is a special boomerang made for throwing at birds. The latter keeps a straight course, and a native could throw it more than two hundred yards."
1892. J. Fraser, `The Aborigines of New South Wales,' p. 69: