Item CO7
This Item was Sold on 2 July 2023
for $243
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Historical Pricing information for this item and similar collectable boomerangs can be found on the Boomerang Pricing Guide
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This traditional boomerang was made by Frank Donnellan in the 1940s out of a material called Whalebone (see description below). Whalebone is similar to Paxolin in stiffness and density. Frank did not make commercial boomerangs out of Whalebone. He only made them for his own use in long distance throwing. It is painted light green and white. There is minimal wear from use and no damage. The popular plastic Donnellan traditional is based on this model. I acquired this boomerang from Ben Ruhe in 1986. Whalebone boomerangs are very rare. This item also includes a throwing instruction sheet that Steven Silady used for marketing the plastic Donnellan traditional. There is also a B&W photo taken by George Leavens who spent time with Frank Donnellan in the 1950s. I used this photo in George Leavens' essay about Frank in MHR.
Frank Donnellan was one of Australia's earliest boomerang champions and record holders. Frank did amazing feats and he claimed to be the holder of "all records" long before there were any official boomerang clubs or sanctioned competitions. On May 4th, 1934, Frank threw a long distance boomerang of his own construction at Centennial Park, Sydney in the presence of "Sun" news representatives. The boomerang circled a pole 140 yards away and then it was caught on the return. This, and other feats included throwing over Watson's Bay Gap one hundred yards over the water and caught on the return and throwing off the "Sun" Office Buildings seventy-five yards out over the city, and caught on the return. Frank made and sold boomerangs well into the 1950s. His commercial models were constructed out of plywood and his long distance models were constructed out of Whalebone, a composite material similar to Paxolin, but made out of pressed whale baleen and saw dust. Whalebone was used by railroad companies to line the inside of box cars to absorb shock and protect the cargo. Frank obtained his whalebone material by jumping into empty box cars as trains passed by his home and he would rip out a sheet and take it home to make his long distance boomerangs. Frank's commercial boomerangs were plentiful in the 1940s and early 1950s, but they have become scarce over the years. |
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