Indigenous Australian spears taken by James Cook to return to Sydney after 250 years

Cambridge’s Prof Nicholas Thomas said the spears ‘reflect the beginnings of a history of misunderstanding and conflict’. Photograph: University of Sydney

Three Indigenous spears taken by James Cook will be returned to Sydney for the first time in 250 years.

The spears, described as “exceptionally significant”, have been loaned by the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge for display at the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum for three months from Friday.