Ochre Woomeraby Stephen Clyne

This hand crafted woomera is made from Mulga wood and has been decorated with ochre from Central Australia. The woomera is wooden Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device. It can be two to three feet in length. One end is three inches wide, while the other is more pointed and has a hook. This woomera has been traditionally decorated with incised designs that indicated the owner's tribal or clan group. Ochre consist of several layers of multi-coloured, layered rock that was traditionally used by Australian Aboriginal people in ceremonies for body decorating as well important carved desert tools or ceremonial objects. There are different ochres from soft to touch, vivid, with a slight sheen to it. The colours range from gold to crimson.

Like spears and boomerangs, woomeras were traditionally used only by Aboriginal men. Some woomeras, especially those used in the central and western Australian deserts, were multi-purpose tools. Often shaped like long narrow bowls, they could be used for carrying water-soaked vegetable matter (which would not spill and could later be sucked for its moisture) as well as small food items such as little lizards or seeds. Many woomeras had a sharp stone cutting edge attached to the end of the handle with black gum from the triodia plant. This sharp tool had many uses, such as cutting up kangaroo or other game, food and wood. The woomera could be used as a shield for protection against spears and boomerangs.