Item X 10109 Ungine | Spear. Northern, Queensland, Australia. before 1902

Local Name

Ungine

Physical Description

A multibarbed spear with rows of echidna quills embedded into resin and painted with natural pigments.

Significance

This spear was purchased around the turn of the twentieth century from Alfred Atkinson, a well known photographer with a studio in Cairns prior to 1910. It is a very rare example with its barbs of echidna quills, as such spears in north Queensland were usually made with stingray barbs.