Mungari: fishing, resistance, return

Mungari, a fishing songline in Dharawal culture, celebrates the long-awaited homecoming of four of the most significant fishing spears in Australian history. Crafted by Gweagal clansmen of Gamay (Botany Bay), stolen by James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in April 1770, and held in the United Kingdom for 254 years, these spears tell a story of resistance then and now: the story of the Gweagal Ancestors who bravely defended their homeland, and the story of their descendants who fought for many years to have them returned.           

In March 2023, Trinity College, the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Gujaga Foundation and the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council announced the permanent repatriation of the Gweagal Spears from the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the La Perouse Aboriginal community. By 2024, the spears had finally arrived back on Dharawal land. Mungari will trace their extraordinary journey and the resistance of many generations that led to their return and the safeguarding and continuation of fishing traditions practiced in the community today.  

The Chau Chak Wing Museum is proud to present this display during the period the University of Sydney has been entrusted with the temporary care of the Gweagal Spears before their continued journey to Gweagal clan lands and keeping place at Gundal (Kurnell, NSW).