‘Ancient’ Spears ‘Stolen’ by Captain Cook RETURNED!

These spears shown onscreen are known as the “Gweagal spears”. They’re a collection made up of three fishing spears and one hunting spear. They look like any other spear, I suppose, except according to the Australian media, these are the proceeds of crime! Not in that they killed animals, but rather they were stolen, by Captain Cook! “We used them as back scratchers.”

But as I said, they were stolen! “Ancient spears handed back”. I think they’re misusing the word ‘ancient’, but let’s run with it. “More than 250 years after they were first taken, four spears, stolen by Captain James Cook and his crew after they arrived at Botany Bay, have been repatriated to their traditional owners.”

“'Emotional moment' as spears taken by Captain Cook are returned to Indigenous community. Four spears stolen by Captain James Cook!” Even Kids News got in on the action, although they used the more euphemistic term “taken without permission”. Perhaps we should change his name to Captain James Crook. “I’m nought but a petty thief!” Of course, I jest.

The spears were presented to Cambridge University’s Trinity College in 1771 by Lord Sandwich, the British naval chief at the time, with the spears being held at the college’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology since the early 20th century. Last year, the museum agreed to return the spears to the La Perouse Aboriginal Community, who are apparently the direct descendants of the Gweagal who crafted the spears 254 years ago.

I find it deeply ironic that if these spears weren’t “stolen”, and I use that term loosely, in the 18th century, these objects wouldn’t be around today. If these spears hadn’t been taken, they wouldn’t exist anymore. Unlike many artefacts, these were just regular tools that would have been used and then discarded when they broke. It was only once they were removed from Australia that they became somewhat precious. Am I wrong in that assessment?

Cook, a British naval lieutenant at the time, travelled to New Holland (Australia) on the HMB Endeavour (His Majesty’s Bark). He was accompanied by botanist Joseph Banks, who kept a journal. This journal can be viewed online. After arriving at Botany Bay on 28 April 1770, he described the animosity between the local inhabitants and the landing party.

After reading the journal, in my reckoning, the British essentially confiscated the spears that were being thrown at them. If you wish to call that stealing, I suppose you could, but clearly the locals were not exactly friendly towards the landing party. I’m not saying they had to be, but of course, if you’re aggressive towards others, expect them to be aggressive back. And that’s pretty much what happened, although the landing party did still try to be friendly by giving the people some gifts.

Captain Cook also kept a journal, which you can view online as well. He described how after giving the local people cloth, they “left it carelessly upon the Sea beach and in the Woods, as a thing they had no manner of use for; in short, they seem’d to set no Value upon anything we gave them, nor would they ever part with anything of their own for any one Article we could offer them.”

Look, I don’t know if what Captain Cook wrote is 100% accurate, I’m just reading it. But this is the evidence we have. The media play up the idea of stolen spears, but to me it sounds like the Europeans were trying to be nice, but the local people were not having it, and consequently their spears were confiscated. The gifts the Europeans did give, weren’t welcome and were just left to lie on the beach.

There are lots of people acting like these spears were significant cultural artefacts that were heartlessly stolen. But that’s glorifying, or romanticising what they actually were. These were hunting tools and had no significance beyond their purpose at that time. What happened to virtually all the other spears from that same time period? They were probably used and then burnt. The preservation is what has given these spears value and cultural significance. Some might argue that the people who preserved them are the rightful owners.

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn