Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is exploring the possibility of buying a boomerang given to Captain James Cook when he visited Australia.
The boomerang will be auctioned in London by Christie's next month and could fetch as much as STG60,000 ($A128,137).
Two wooden clubs, also believed to have belonged to Aborigines Cook met when he landed on Australia's east coast in 1770, will be offered for sale as well.
"The minister has asked his department to explore the provenance of these objects and potential avenues for their acquisition," Mr Garrett's spokesman Ben Pratt told AAP.
Scott Morrison, federal MP for Cook, a seat that takes in Kurnell on the southern side of Botany Bay where Cook landed, wants the government to press Britain to buy the boomerang and return it to Australia.
"(Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd should use his relationship with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to convince the UK government to purchase the boomerang and donate it to Australia in a gesture of friendship and to mark our shared heritage," Mr Morrison said in a statement.
"The boomerang should be returned to Kurnell as a symbol of that first meeting and so all Australians have the opportunity to see it."
Gweigal people spokesman Merv Ryan said the local Aboriginal community felt strongly about the boomerang's return.
"Having the boomerang back in Kurnell will be an historic symbol of harmony between our two cultures and will help teach young Australians about the importance of Aboriginal culture," he said.
Mr Morrison says he will raise his plan when parliament returns next week.
Measuring just under 56cm in length, the boomerang has no markings and comes from a collection of artefacts once owned by the British explorer's widow Elizabeth Cook.
