This long and graceful Woomera ( spear thrower or atlatl ) is from the West Central Desert region of Australia. The Aborigines of the Central Desert traveled on long walkabouts and they had to carry light weight, multipurpose tools. This light weight Woomera is called a Miru by the indigenous Central Desert people. The Miru is a spear thrower and the curved interior section is used much like a coolamon bowl for the preparation of food or for mixing ochre and fat for ceremonial purposes, etc. The central section is very thin and it has a uniform thickness along the entire length. The peg is tightly bound with fine sinew. The handle has a ball of Spinifex resin that is totally intact. This Woomera feels great in the hand and I would not be afraid to use it to cast darts. This Miru was purchased in Perth Australia in 1990. It was part of the famous McAlpine collection. It has " West. Desert ; Cent. Aust. ; -36. " neatly printed in white paint near the handle end. The woomera has a non-indigenous repair running approximately 20 cm in length near the printed notes, but there is no missing material. This spear thrower was probably made in the early 1900s. There is no date, but that would match most items in the McAlpine collection.