( Reuters ) - Proving boomerangs really do come back, an Australian town was on Thursday celebrating the return of a boomerang stolen from an outback museum by an American tourist 25 years ago.
The boomerang, a flying blade used mainly by Aborigines to hunt animals, was posted home to the city of Mount Isa in the northern state of Queensland by a Vermont man who named himself in a letter only as Peter.
"I removed this back in 1983 when I was younger and dumber. It was the wrong thing to do. I'm sorry, and I'm going to send it back," according to a note read out to Australian media by Mt. Isa mayor Ron McCullough, who added Peter had also sent a cheque.
The boomerang was stolen from the now-closed Frank Aston Underground Museum, which once displayed old mining equipment and Aboriginal artefacts in the town. Boomerangs travel in an elliptical path, returning to a skilled thrower.
Foreign tourists frequently return objects and rocks taken from sites sacred to Aborigines, including from Uluru, or Ayers Rock, believing the so-called "sorry rocks" have brought bad luck.
McCullough said Peter had put his full name and address on the return parcel, but declined to reveal his full identity.
"I think putting his name on it was part of his purifying effort," he said.