Four Aboriginal spears taken by Captain James Cook when he landed in Botany Bay in 1770 are to be returned to the descendants of the original peoples.
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In a deal brokered by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, Trinity College, Cambridge in Britain has agreed to repatriate the items of immense historical significance to the La Perouse Aboriginal community.
The English college is to transfer the legal title to the spears which were taken from Kamay (Botany Bay) when the British made their first contact with the Aboriginal people of eastern Australia.
It is clear that they have great significance as a symbol of that first - still controversial - contact between cultures which clashed.
James Cook recorded that 40 spears were taken from the camps of Aboriginal people living at Botany Bay. He took them back to Britain and the British Admiralty department then presented four of them to the Cambridge college which has owned them ever since. The other 36 have disappeared.
One of the crew members of the Endeavour recorded on April 29, 1770 that they "thought it no improper measure to take away with us all the lances which we could find about the houses".
Since 1914, the only four existing spears have been in the care of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge.
The spears' owner, Trinity College, decided to relinquish ownership in a negotiation with representatives of the original owners which was mediated by the National Museum of Australia.
"We are delighted to have worked with the La Perouse Aboriginal community, Trinity College, Cambridge and the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, to help facilitate discussions over many years to return these historic spears to their cultural owners," the National Museum of Australia's director Mathew Trinca said.
"This outcome follows a longstanding relationship between the National Museum and these parties and we look forward to continuing to work with the community to ensure the long-term care of these priceless objects," Dr Trinca added.
La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council chairperson Noeleen Timbery said the spears would be preserved for future generations.
"They are an important connection to our past, our traditions and cultural practices, and to our ancestors," she said.
"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 (Botany Bay) in 1770," she said.
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The Master of Trinity, Sally Davies, said that the college was "committed to better understanding the college's history, and to addressing the complex legacies of the British empire, not least in our collections".
The spears have been lent to the National Museum in Canberra for two exhibitions, one in 2015 and the other two years ago, but then returned to Britain.
A new community centre is being built on the original Aboriginal land and the spears may well now go there, though the final destination has not been decided.
Nor has it been decided where they will go in the interim while the centre is being built. The National Museum in Canberra has not been ruled out.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
