Four spears taken from the Gweagal people by James Cook and Joseph Banks in 1770 were permanently repatriated to the La Perouse Aboriginal community – including direct descendants of the Gweagal people who crafted the spears 254 years ago – in a ceremony held in the Wren Library at Trinity College yesterday (Tuesday).
The four spears are the last of 40 taken by Captain Cook and his botanist at the time of the first contact between the crew of the HMB Endeavour and the indigenous people of Kamay at Botany Bay on 29 April, 1770. Cook recorded having taken the spears from the villages of the Gweagal people living at Kamay.
The Gweagal spears were named after the Gweagal clan of the Dharawal Nation, to whom they belong, and were presented to Trinity College in 1771 by Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, and a Trinity alumnus, along with other materials from Cook’s voyage across the Pacific. The spears have been held since 1914 at the MAA (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) on Downing Street.
Loans of the spears to Australia in 2015 and 2020 created a constructive dialogue between the MAA and the La Perouse Aboriginal community. The discussions involved representatives of the Gweagal people, the broader Dharawal Nation, and leading community organisations, including the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Gujaga Foundation. The strong relationship forged between the La Perouse Aboriginal community and Cambridge “will continue through collaborative research projects and Community visits”.
The successful transfer of the spears has had support from the Australian government, AIATSIS’s (the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) Return of Cultural Heritage Program, and the National Museum of Australia (NMA), who collaborated with the La Perouse Aboriginal community for many years and will support the community in the physical care of the spears as they journey back to Australia.
The spears will be displayed at a new visitor centre to be built at Kurnell, Kamay. In the meantime, at the request of the La Perouse Aboriginal community, they will be cared for by the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney.
“The return of the Gweagal spears is a significant step forward on the journey towards reconciliation and truth-telling,” said Linda Burney, minister for indigenous Australians.
Ray Ingrey, Gujaga Foundation director, said: “The spears were pretty much the first point of European contact, particularly British contact with Aboriginal Australia. I think for us it’s a momentous occasion that where Australia’s history began, in 1770 on the shores of Botany Bay at Kurnell, the spears that were undoubtedly taken without permission are returned to the rightful people.”
Noeleen Timbery, of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council, called the spears “an important connection to our past, our traditions, and cultural practices, and to our ancestors”.
She added: “Our elders have worked for many years to see their ownership transferred to the traditional owners of Botany Bay. Many of the families within the La Perouse Aboriginal community are descended from those who were present during the eight days the Endeavour was anchored in Kamay in 1770.”
Leonard Hill, interim CEO, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), said: “Returning cultural heritage material is a key aspiration of Australia’s First Nations people. It supports the maintenance and revitalisation of cultural practices, intergenerational transfer of knowledge, truth-telling and reconciliation.”
He added: “Repatriation is not a loss for collecting institutions. It is an opportunity to build enduring partnerships, to walk beside communities and to share in the stories of First Nations people together.”
The ceremony on 23 April in the Wren Library was attended by members of the La Perouse Aboriginal community, the Australian government, the MAA, the University of Cambridge, AIATSIS and the NMA. It included readings from the voyage journals of James Cook and Joseph Banks as well as statements by representatives of the La Perouse Aboriginal community.
Dame Sally Davies, master of Trinity, said: “This is an important day at Trinity for all parties involved in what has been a rewarding and respectful process, and ultimately a remarkable journey. We are delighted to be able to return the Gweagal spears to the La Perouse Aboriginal community.
“We would like to thank all those who have taken part in good faith in the discussions and exchanges that have enabled us to reach this point.
“This is the right decision and Trinity is committed to reviewing the complex legacies of the British empire, not least in our collections.”
