LONDON (AP) — Four Aboriginal spears that were taken to England by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago were returned Tuesday to Australia’s Indigenous community at a ceremony in Cambridge University.
The artifacts were all that remain of some 40 spears that Cook and botanist Joseph Banks took in April 1770, at the time of the first contact between Cook’s crew and the Indigenous people of Kamay, or Botany Bay.
The spears were presented to Trinity College, Cambridge by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich the following year, along with other items from Cook’s voyage across the Pacific. The spears have been held at the university’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology since the early 20th century.
Their return, agreed last year following a campaign and a formal repatriation request, was hailed as a step toward reconciliation and a greater understanding of Britain and Australia’s shared history.
ACWF President Stresses the Role of Women, Women's Federations in COVID
ACWF President Visits Women Frontline Workers in Fight Against COVID
ACWF President Stresses Greater Efforts in Lifting All Impoverished Women out of Poverty
Celine Dion reveals she wore a coat for 'nerve
ACWF President Underlines People
ACWF Holds Mobilization Meeting on Party History Learning and Education
Cultural relics from Luxembourg on display in China's Henan
Man City vs Man United FA Cup final time confirmed
ACWF Holds Video Meeting to Study Law on Safeguarding National Security in HK SAR
Hurricanes lose defenseman Brett Pesce to lower
ACWF President Calls on Teachers to Pass on China's COVID