Summary

This style of club is generally referred to as a 'pineapple' club and is associated mainly with the central coastal region of Queensland. The metal nails embedded in the head of the club makes it a formidable weapon.

Local Name

Nullah

Physical Description

A club made from a single piece of hardwood tapering to a point at the proximal end. The head is embedded with horseshoe nails, and a metal ring sits below the head of nails.

Significance

Little documentation accompanies this club other than its association with Clement Lindley Wragge, who was appointed meteorological observer in the colony of Queensland in 1887. Wragge amassed a significant collection of Aboriginal artefacts from central and north Queensland during his two or three year appointment that began in January 1887 as the meteorological observer in the colony. He offered the collection to the major Australian state museums in the hope of keeping the entire collection together, however unable to secure a single buyer meant the collection was split between this museum and Queensland and the South Australian Museum. Like Walter E. Roth, Wragge attempted to represent the cultural diversity of Aboriginal people of north Queensland in his collection, which was very unusual for a private collector of that era. Many of the objects from Wragge, like this one, appear to be old examples.

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