Would a sword be more difficult to carry than a mulga sword blade?
They surely knew how to sharpen tools...I've seen a Qld rainforest blade over 1 metre long.
They took glass insulation fittings from the overland telegraph to make spear points. A metal sword would appear magical and extremely useful. The metal neck-plates used to name a tribal chief by British colonials are valued even today.

nicknamenick,

With respect, have you ever done any bushwalking? Imagine taking a 'British' or 'European' sword with you. What would you shed to carry it?

If they really must speculate that it may have been metallic and edged, why discount the much more practical and available golok (from Indonesian and other sailors)?

Then who would bother carrying it from Darwin to Bourke ? Yes it may have been a straight kris long enough to cut 150 mm.
But somebody carried mulga swords and shields. Probably : " yeah, want to have a go do you? stay here and wait until I get my fighting gear."
Do you use wood knives in your kitchen? why not?

Hi Nick,

This is fascinating. In the lower Murray, the giant cod that Ngurunderi chased is called a pondi. I didn't know about Parampari.

That all raises questions bout how Javanese could have got to, basically, central Australia - perhaps from the Gulf, then down the Warrego: Toorale is on its junction with the Darling. Stories could have been passed up the Darling-Barwon and along river basins like the Dawson and Balonne and Condamine: the people there could have had close links with the Bandjalang, who seem to be in two parts, up in the Burnett region, and down on the northern rivers in NSW.

Could a Javanese war-party have got that far south without leaving any trace, no other stories, no artifacts ? If they did, then it's possible that stories could have been passed along, becoming more garbled with each telling, and with time and distance. Of course, this also asks the question: why ? Why trek thousands of kilometres into the desert ?

Smallpox epidemics may have spread from the Gulf up and then down the rivers, to western NSW, and from there down the Darling and across NSW and into SA. There could have been epidemics in 1789 (after the First Fleet had arrived, long after any incubation period) and again in about 1829, just before Sturt rowed down the Murray. There was also an epidemic down the WA coast as far as the South-West. Javanese, or Macassan, or Timorese, sailors were just starting trade in trepang and sandalwood along the North Coast in those late decades of the eighteenth century, but perhaps not before.

Could it be that some white bloke, a drover or stockman, found a skull somewhere along the Gulf coast, stuck it in his swag, and took it all the way down the Warrego, to Toorale ? Just exploring alternatives :)

Cheers,

Joe
www.firstsources.info

Foxy, sorry, I couldn't resist that plug :)

Here's some pics :
aboriginal rainforest shield & rainforest sword club far north ...
www.arthur-palmer.blogspot.com/.../aboriginal-rainforest-shield-rainfore...
Dec 16, 2009 - Large 1860 NQ Aboriginal Rainforest Shield and Sword Club Pair ... were always associated in ritual battle with the heavy fighting sword.
----
Maybe battle swords were smaller, or they were using the clubs which were fairly heavy.
The Darling river from the east would be an easier route than across desert. The Paroo river is a seasonal creek .
Indonesian. parit : ditch, canal.
Balinese. paru : lung, half.
On the Paroo, Wanaaring ( the town) means "wood duck". These make nests in tree-trunk hollows, red gum trees grow well along creeks.
Balinese. wana: forest. aring : entrance to small house ( bintang aring).
kris aring : sword. metal handle to deflect the other sword blade from the hand-grip.( like a passage-way / entrance ).
This suggests that kris swords were known, they were believed to have magical powers. An Aboriginal with a metal sword would have high status and high tech weaponry, quicker to strike with and sharper

Sanskrit . ring : moving slowly. balin : warrior.
Balinese . ring : with. Balin is the son of Indra, the rain-god warrior who has a statue in Bali. He made Tirta Empul sacred pool to heal his soldiers.

Ringbalin - River Country Spirit Ceremony - Murray River
www.murrayriver.com.au/event/393-river-country-spirit-ceremony/

03 Oct 2015 - Meningie shadow layout ... A celebration of spirit and Aborigines connection with country, Ringbalin dances it's way 2,300 kilometres across three ...