Captain Cook's boomerang set for auction

LONDON (Reuters) - An Aboriginal boomerang collected by Captain James Cook on his first trip to New Holland -- now Australia -- in 1770 but lost to public sight ever since goes on sale next month.

The boomerang, which is expected to fetch up to 60,000 pounds, comes from the collection of Cook's widow Elizabeth and was passed on to the current owner as an inheritance.

Its rarity lies in the fact that it is from the first contacts between Aborigines and Europeans.

Auction house Christie's said Cook was unaware of the function of the boomerang because often the Aborigines ran away from his men when they came ashore.

It was simply described as a wooden weapon and it was only years later when settlers began to arrive that its purpose and function began to be understood.

Two wooden clubs from the same collection and believed to have been collected on the same voyage will also be on offer at the Exploration and Travel sale in London on September 25.

(Reporting by Jeremy Lovell; editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe)