Aboriginal blades in Aust Museum are 5-10 mm thick at 10mm in from the edge. Surgical chisel blades are 2mm. Skull thickness on the forehead is about 8mm so a sideways slice halfway down is hardly possible with wood.

School of Archaeology and Ancient History
University of Leicester, LE1 7RH

Orthopaedic & Spine Surgeon
Director Orthopaedic Surgery, The Alfred
Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Monash University

University of Sydney.
(The Forum won't permit quotes to be posted ).

Swords have been around since about 3,000 BC so I don't suppose that one, or more, finding their way to Australia by way of trade would be impossible, or even surprising. He could have been hit with a bronze weapon, it didn't have to be iron or steel.

"When discovered, the skull was described as being cut by a British colonial sword"

Impossible. The highly reliable carbon dating says the event occurred well before Europeans.

Aboriginal sharpened stone axes were made 35,000 years ago. Even forgetting that fact, what about flint edged weapons - sharp like glass and present a thin profile. Or edged weapons from the very hard Australian timbers, some of which pave London streets to this day.

The ABC really has to so better than using its egg beater to make stories.

Is Catalyst to be regarded like Q&A - which the ABC management admits is only 'entertainment' and makes no attempt to surface facts and evidence as news reporting is obliged to do?

The ABC is aware that headlines and introductory bumpf can easily mislead, because many readers and viewers do not get past that, as manipulative spin-merchants and propagandists are very aware.

What should be vexing to Aboriginals is that there is a deeper story to be told of their toolmaking history and very likely, a story of social rules that must not be broken on penalty of death.

Bronze or iron, this king had a navy which sailed to New Guinea.
Sri Maharaja Kertajaya was the last king of Kadiri who reigned circa 1194-1222. . At the end of his reign, he was defeated by Ken Arok of Tumapel or Singhasari , which marked the end of the kingdom of Kadiri .

The Indianized States of South-East Asia
George Cœdès 1968 p 187
Kritajaya fled and disappeared without a trace.

Ancient Indian History and Civilization
Sailendra Nath Sen 1999 India p 525

. Kertajaya, the last king of Kadiri, involved himself in a quarrel with the clergy ...

.Ken Arok ..married the heiress to the throne of Janggala after murdering her husband. As ruler of Janggala he next revolted in 1222 against his sovereign Kertajaya , the ruler of Kediri, with the full support of clergy. .Ken Arok was succeeded by Kertanagara who was murdered in 1292 by a revolting governor of resurgent Kediri .

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By the end of his reign Kertajaya says he wanted to be worshiped by the Hindu and Buddhist priests.. .

. . The priests chose refuge in Ken Arok ,. Kertajaya.. claimed he could only be defeated by Shiva . . Hearing this, Ken Arok put on the title of Lord Master (another name for Shiva ) and led troops to attack Kadiri . To legitimate his ascension, Ken Arok claimed to be a son of Siwa.

. Anusapati,a stepson .. killed Ken Arok.. In the end, Anusapati was also killed by his stepbrother, Panji Tohjaya with the same kris sword.

.. . . Kertajaya himself escaped and hid, rising to heaven.

. Nagarakretagama .. mentioned that Kertajaya escaped and hid in dewalaya (god's land ).

. Both texts proclaim Kertajaya is in a natural refuge of the gods. Presumably Kertajaya hid inside a temple , or maybe Kertajaya was killed .

In later periods, Kediri economy grew to rely more heavily on trade, especially the spice trade. This resulted from Kediri development of a navy, giving them the opportunity to control the spice trade routes to eastern islands. (such as Papua).

on the beach.
Hi
The doco said they thought it was a British sword until the date of 1200s was given.
A flint-tipped blade has a jagged edge so can't cut a clean slice and flint is brittle on bone. Stone blades are even thicker than mulga and can't slice sideways half-way into the skull.

The goddess who became India and an island in Queensland may be an example of Indonesian Hindu contact in 1200s. Gauri and Gurree seem to be the same.

The Creation of Fraser Island (K’Gari) – a Butchulla Legend

(From stories told by direct descendent and Elder of the Butchulla people – Olga Miller)

Yendingie came down from the sky, and set to work to make the sea, and then the land. When Yendingie arrived at what is now known as Hervey Bay, he had a helper – the beautiful white spirit called Princess K’Gari.

K’Gari was a great helper, and helped Yendingie make the sea shores, the mountain ranges, the lakes and the rivers..
When she awoke she said to Yendingie, “I think this is the most beautiful place we have ever created. .Please, please Yendingie … I could still look up into the sky and see what you are doing. I would love to stay here.”

Finally Yendingie agreed. “You may stay here, but you cannot stay in spirit form. I will need to change you.” So he changed her into a beautiful island. So she wouldn’t be lonely, he then made some beautiful trees and flowers, and some lakes that were specially mirrored so that she could see into the sky. He made creeks and laughing waters that would become her voice, and birds and animals and people to keep her company. He gave these people knowledge and laws, and told them what to do, and how to procreate, so that their children and ancestors would always be there to keep K’Gari company.

And she is still there today, looking up at the sky in one of the truly most beautiful places on earth! She is very happy in, and as, paradise.

In the Butchulla people’s language, Fraser Island was known as K’gari (pronounced gurri) meaning paradise. Butchulla translates as the sea people.