Tomahawks, mostly never had handles, and were held by the narrow end, and used like a cone with a short handle. The ones that did have handles, were made from vine from trees and sap.
One of the most interesting ways that handles were made, was from a little sapling tree, that was only a couple of metres high, with a 1 ½ inch trunk. If you put your thumb, and index finger together, that’s about the right size.
They would cut the trunk down the middle, and put the stone through the cut, and then tie it at the top, tie it at the bottom, and let it grow for a year. When they returned, the tree had grown very tightly around the stone. They cut the tree, where they wanted the handle, and cut it at the bottom of the axe head. Thus making a Tomahawk with a handle.
When Europeans started sending messages overseas, by telegram, they built a telegraph line all the way to the Cape. They put glass insulators on the top of the poles for the telegraph wires. After this was built, the First Nations people climbed up to see what the insulators were, and they removed some of them, and dropped them down to the ground, where they broke.
After discovering how sharp the glass was, they used the glass for tipping spears, and all sorts of tools, including using the glass to start fires. Eventually, all the glass was taken from the telegraph poles.
The white porcelain insulators replaced the stolen glass ones.
Boomerangs, it is very clever how they worked out how to make them, but why would they want a boomerang to come back? Was it a game? Did it save making another one if it was lost?
It was never a game, but made to throw at an animal, a small wallaby or a possum, if it missed, it came back! If it hit the target, they had to retrieve their hunt anyway!
Woomera’s are spear launchers. Woomeras made their spear go a lot further, a lot quicker, and with greater force.
The Woomera Rocket Range is named after the First Nations Woomera.