Boomerang painted with kangaroos, emus, a tree and a human figure, made by Bill Onus

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Type: Boomerangs
Materials: Wood
Collection: Scott Rainbow collection
Accession number: 2008.0046.0024

Description

A symmetrical dark-coloured timber boomerang painted on the anterior with stylised figurative and geometric designs. Listed from proper right, the figurative designs include a yellow emu, a red kangaroo, a yellow kangaroo, a red tree, a human figure, and another red kangaroo and yellow emu. Bird and kangaroo footprints, as well as other small black markings, feature between and under the human and animal figures. The posterior is unadorned.

About the collection

This collection consists of eighty one decorated objects including boomerangs, clubs, scrimshaw, stock whip handles, shields and walking sticks. The majority of the objects are associated with Aboriginal missions during the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries, in particular the Barambah/ Cherbourg mission (QLD), La Perouse (NSW), Palm Island (QLD), and Lake Tyers (VIC). Various locations in South Australia are also included. From the late nineteenth century Aboriginal people in Eastern Australia created a range of artefacts decorated with incised, carved, painted and pokerworked motifs, which documented their experiences of interaction with European settlers. 'Non-traditional' designs emerged which were specific to individual missions - such as the cross hatching and playing card iconography characteristic of Cherbourg and the incised flora and fauna motifs characteristic of La Perouse. Many of the objects in this collection reflect these new designs, and depict the changing circumstances brought about by European settlement as well as continuing links to land and traditional cultural practices. When used as trade items, these objects quickly became sought after, and as production increased they found a market as tourist souvenirs. This collection brings together a range of such objects from several key sites, including two of the most important east coast mission stations, Cherbourg and La Perouse. It also includes a number of hybrid objects, such as a tin yandi and a nail club, which combine tradition forms and functions with non-traditional materials. This collection is significant for including types of objects not well represented in existing museum collections, and for representing the range of objects being made by Indigenous people in Eastern Australia during this period, particular those living on missions.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:26:25 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.