Sons of Australia's aboriginal huntsmen and warriors, with their boomerangs: copy 2 of 2

Sons of Australia's aboriginal huntsmen and warriors, with their boomerangs: copy 2 of 2

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are warned that this item may contain images of deceased persons

Geography. - We are at Healesville on the Yarra river, a few miles northeast of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
People and Homes. - Healesville is a reservation which has been set apart by the government for the Australian aborigines. They are allowed to occupy cheap wooden houses like those in the background and are provided with food and clothing by the government. In return for this care, they are supposed to do a certain amount of work. The native weapon for war and amusement is the boomerang, of which we see several specimens here. There are two kinds, one which can be thrown a distance of one hundred and fifty to two hundred and seventy-five yards with power enough to kill game; the other, which is used more for amusement, can be thrown in such a way that it will return to the sender, in apparent violation of all mechanical laws.
Races of Mankind. - The origin of the natives of Australia presents a difficult problem. The chief difficulty in deciding their ethical relations is their remarkable physical difference from all the neighboring peoples. And as one turns from physical criteria to their manners and customs, it is only to find Frenchsh evidence of their isolation. While their neighbors - the Malays, Papuans and Polynesians - all cultivate the soil, and build substantial huts and houses, the Australian natives do neither. Pottery is common to Malays and Papuans, but is unknown to the Australians. The bows and arrows of the Papuans and the elaborate canoes of all three neighboring races are also unknown to the Australians. They must be considered as representing the most primitive type of mankind, and it is necessary to look far for their prehistoric home. Refer again to this view when considering History, Agriculture, Manual Training.

1 gelatine silver print stereograph (8 x 16 cm) mounted on card (9 x 18 cm)

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