Does It Really Come Back?
By Awake! correspondent in Australia
MAURICE lives in Huonville, Tasmania, an island-state southeast of mainland Australia. He has the rare skill of being able to throw a boomerang so that it returns to him. Demonstrating this art sometimes clinches a sale in his retail business. Most of his customers are tourists visiting Hobart, Tasmania’s capital city, and among them are many Japanese seamen. When first introduced to the boomerang, the seamen usually are skeptical and often ask: “Does it really come back?”
“I find that an actual demonstration is the best way to overcome their doubts,” says Maurice. “Often to satisfy the skeptics, I have thrown the boomerang from the wharf around the front of their ship. The boomerang disappears from sight, only to reappear, curling around the back of the ship’s superstructure, to land on the wharf nearby.”
Those still not convinced accompany Maurice to a nearby park or playing field to try the boomerang themselves after a little instruction. Can you visualize what follows? “The next minute, a group of normally inscrutable Japanese are laughing and scampering around the field like children, cameras clicking to record the amusement, surprise, and thrill of their first throw—especially when they get the boomerang to return somewhere close to them.”
What Is a Boomerang?
A dictionary describes a boomerang simply as “a hard-wood missile used by the natives of Australia, shaped like the segment of a circle and so balanced that when thrown to a distance it returns towards the thrower.” Of course, as a verb “boomerang” refers to a scheme that backfires and harms the perpetrator. But let’s concentrate on the throwing type.
Today, boomerang-throwing is mainly a sport. Some who take it quite seriously have formed clubs. One of these is the Mudgeeraba Creek Emu-Racing and Boomerang-Throwing Association in Queensland, Australia. But it was not always a sport. The boomerang was developed as a hunting instrument and a weapon of war among the Australian aborigines.
But do not think that the boomerang is solely an Australian weapon. Boomerangs have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Some had their tips covered with gold, presumably to increase their range. What their ancient name was is not recorded, but the modern name “boomerang” is from the term bou-mar-rang in the language of the Turawal tribe of aborigines who lived on the banks of the Georges River, near Sydney.
Throwing sticks closely resembling the boomerang have been found in Holland, Denmark, Germany, northeast Africa, India (where they were made of steel or ivory), and among the Hopi Indians of Arizona in the United States. Whereas the boomerang was generally superseded by the bow and arrow, among the Australian aborigines this ancient weapon has been in common use up to modern times.
Its Use in the Hunt
Come with us and witness the use of the boomerang as a hunting weapon. Notice that the aboriginal hunters have carefully strung nets between suitable trees. The birds they are pursuing have settled in a position directly facing the nets, and the aim is to force the birds to fly low and get entangled in the nets. If they rise above the trees, all will be lost.
Look! Several hunters spring to their feet. With careful aim they hurl boomerangs toward the prey. The rotating missiles climb rapidly into the air, skim over the trees, and circle just above the birds. Those whirring blades must sound like hawks. The birds keep low. Notice how the hunters add to the illusion by making hawklike cries. The panic-stricken birds crash into the waiting net. The hunt is a great success.
Meanwhile, each of the spinning boomerangs has completed a full circle. As if by command, each one has returned, either to be caught by its thrower or to fall at his feet.
For a boomerang to return to the thrower, however, it must be relatively small and light. So most are about 30 inches (75 cm) long. This makes them too light to inflict serious damage on larger animals such as kangaroos and wallabies. Such a boomerang might bring down a bird in flight or wound a small animal if the thrower’s aim is exceptional. But apart from the kind of hunting just described, the returning boomerang was really used for little more than throwing-practice or recreation.
A Nonreturning “Boomerang”
The instrument used mainly as a weapon in hunting and warfare was the kylie, or killer stick. It was made in the same shape as a boomerang but was much larger—up to 4 feet (1.2 m) in length and weighing about 1 1/2 pounds (0.7 kg). However, the kylie would not return when thrown. It was a far more deadly weapon than its smaller counterpart, and its spinning action enabled it to travel much farther. The kylie could be aimed with greater accuracy than a spear, and because of the swath of its 4-foot spin, the kylie’s killing power was spread over a much larger area than just a point, as is the case with a spear. Some accurate throws of up to 660 feet (200 m) have been recorded, and it would have been easy to get within that distance of an unsuspecting kangaroo or wallaby.
Aerodynamic Design
The throwing stick, the boomerang, and the kylie all follow aerodynamic principles of design, enabling them to stay aloft for a longer time than any other thrown object. Their “wings” are comparable in shape to those of an airplane or a soaring bird. In flight, the rounded edge of the boomerang pushes through and “splits” the air, causing it to pass above and below the “wing.” The air above the “wing” races across its surface and causes a lifting action. A thrower can add to this lifting action by a flick of the wrist as the boomerang leaves his hand.
An outstanding feature of the boomerang is called the skew, one end being twisted upward and the other downward. It is amazing that the aborigines learned the need for this without any aerodynamic training. One method used was to heat the boomerang in hot ashes until it was pliant. Another was to soak it in water until the wood was soft enough to be twisted to the desired shape.
Throwing for a Good Return
Those adept at getting the boomerang to return claim that this is not difficult and requires only patience and practice. The “elbow” of the boomerang should be away from the thrower, and it should be held in a vertical, not horizontal, position. (See the illustration.) In their book All About Boomerangs, Lorin and Mary Hawes claim that if the boomerang is thrown correctly, it does not matter which end is held in the thrower’s hand. The boomerang will always return if it is thrown with plenty of spin. They state:
“The action of throwing a boomerang is not so much a matter of opening the hand and turning loose the boomerang as it is giving a snappy throw with the hand closed—so that, in leaving, the boomerang has to pull itself free and pivot round the hooked index finger, thus gaining a lot of spin as it does so. . . . The throwing motion of the arm is not unlike the action of cracking a whip. The hand starts its throw at a point behind the shoulder and ends with a snap, straight in front, where it usually stops about an arm’s length from the shoulder. Most of the throwing force is transmitted by bending the elbow. There should be no conscious pulling back of the hand before the end of the throw, but rather a smooth follow-through action.”
If thrown from the right hand, apparently the boomerang travels straight ahead for about 30 yards (27 m), then inclines to the left. As it inclines, it lays over to the horizontal position, rises high into the sky, and makes from one to five circles before returning to the thrower. On its return after a good throw, a boomerang can be deftly caught by the thrower or may fall at his feet.
There Are Some Dangers
Throwing a boomerang is probably the only sport in which the thrower is aiming at himself, because he is his own target. But there is also danger for spectators or anyone passing nearby. The effect of the wind also has to be taken into consideration. In fact, many experienced throwers caution against throwing at all if the wind is more than a gentle breeze. Wind speed can be determined by dropping light pieces of grass or leaves and noting their drift.
Inexperienced throwers need to be extremely careful and should throw only in wide, open spaces. Serious injury or even death could result from an unfortunate accident. To illustrate: An aboriginal senator from Queensland is a recognized boomerang thrower. But once, when he was giving a demonstration of the art at a school centenary celebration, a sudden gust of wind twisted the boomerang off course, and it struck a schoolboy. The wound necessitated several stitches.
Some Outstanding Feats
Ben Ruhe of the Smithsonian Institution is World Registrar and Co-ordinator of Boomerang Activities. He has compiled some impressive feats achieved by modern boomerang-throwers in various parts of the world.
◼ Greatest Distance Thrown: 480 feet (146.3 m).
◼ Accuracy: Eleven straight catches without moving either foot.
◼ Most Courageous Throw: A thrower in Parramatta, Australia, regularly threw a boomerang while blindfolded, standing motionless, and allowing the boomerang to hit an apple on his head.
◼ Best Double Throw: In Balby, England, a thrower is reported to have thrown a right-handed and a left-handed boomerang together for landings, one on top of the other, between his feet.
The boomerang is rapidly becoming as popular with tourists visiting Australia as are the koala and the kangaroo. And although you personally may have little chance to throw one, you can be assured that when it is thrown correctly the boomerang really does come back!
[Pictures on page 23]
Nonreturning throwing stick
Nonreturning boomerang
Returning boomerangs
[Diagrams/Picture on page 24]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
PARTS OF A RETURNING BOOMERANG
Wing
Elbow
Leading edge
Wing
Leading edge
Direction of spin