Four Aboriginal spears that were brought to England 250 years ago are to be formally handed back to Australia.

The weapons were given to Trinity College, Cambridge, soon after Capt James Cook returned to England on the HMB Endeavour in 1771.

They are regarded by indigenous Gweagal men in the Kamay Botany Bay region as "national treasures".

Dame Sally Davies, master of Trinity College, said it was the "right decision" to return the spears.

The four spears are the last surviving ones from a haul of 40, taken from a local camp when the British expedition arrived in Australia in 1770, at modern-day Sydney.

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