Forty spears were recorded as being taken by Captain Cook from the villages of the Gweagal people. It’s not clear what happened to the rest. Noeleen Timbery hopes more will be discovered.

The four spears, which are all that remain of the original 40 spears, are regarded by the Gweagal as national treasures and the tribe still uses a very similar multi-pronged spear to fish today.

Four Aboriginal spears that were brought to England by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago have been repatriated to Australia in a ceremony at Trinity College in Cambridge. The artefacts ...