Could the boomerang be British?

**~~Creeping Death~~** · 09-12-2009, 05:34 AM

Could the boomerang be British?

May 9 2004 By Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

For centuries we've believed that the boomerang was invented by Australia's aborigines.

But now a top North author says it was the Brits that didgeridid it!

Top-selling children's author and historian Terry Deary claims to have uncovered evidence of early boomerang usage that predates their appearance Down Under . . . in Yorkshire!

Terry, the County Durham writer behind the hugely popular Horrible Histories series, has been investigating the origins of the famous wooden hunting weapon, which has always been associated with Oz.

And he claims a rock carving on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, is of a four-armed boomerang dating back as far as 4000BC.

The carving on Swastika Stone, found at Woodhouse Crag, was first discovered in the 1870s and has long been considered by experts to be a swastika motif which was common in ancient Greek and Roman art.

But Terry, of Burnhope, believes it to be proof that ancient Britons developed sophisticated boomerangs.

He says 10,000-year-old boomerangs found at Wyrie Swamp in South Australia in 1973 were throwing sticks . . . and not the returning tools!

Terry joked: "First the Rugby World Cup and now this!"

He went on: "Like everybody, when I began looking into this I assumed the boomerang to be from Oz.

"The evidence I stumbled across is literally rock-solid and I can't quite believe I've helped changed history."

The writer was commissioned by Boomerang Media to find out about the ancient hunting and playing creation as part of their 10th birthday celebrations . . . and the company are delighted by his findings.

Terry told an Australian newspaper: "I compared the image of the stone from photographs with today's four-bladed boomerangs. The similarity was obvious.

"I checked back on the Wyrie Swamp boomerang and it has no aerodynamic qualities. It's a throwing stick.

"Boomerangs come back, throwing sticks don't, so that keeps my bid in the pot.

"My real interest is to challenge the establishment and to stop people saying `if an expert says this, it must be true'.

"I want to stimulate discussion . . . I'm quite prepared to say I'm wrong."

His claims have already sparked a debate.

West Yorkshire District Archaeologist Gavin Edwards says the flowing four-pronged carving has always been considered a swastika motif.

As the only carving of its type in England, Edwards believes it is unlikely to be that of a popular weapon and says it's impossible to date rock carvings.

"It is that sort of shape but it's the first I've ever heard of anyone linking it to a boomerang.

"There are certain individuals who have set themselves up as being experts. I would not support their interpretations in any shape or form."

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAYmk9Qb9Dc[/YOUTUBE]
I always wondered as a child what happened to Charlie Drakes boomerang whenever I heard this song on the radio, now I know, it ended up in Australia...