Darwin gun may rewrite history

Christopher Doukas discovered the gun at Dundee Beach. Photo / Thinkstock

A Darwin boy may help to rewrite Australia's history after unearthing what he believes is a 500-year-old Portuguese swivel gun on a Northern Territory beach.

Christopher Doukas made the discovery at Dundee Beach, about two hours' drive from Darwin, when exceptionally low tides in January 2010 allowed him to walk out a long way.

The boy, now 13, saw the object poking out of mud, dug it out with his father and took it back home.

"As soon as we got it back into Darwin my dad got an angle grinder and nicked a little bit of it. We saw it was bronze, so we knew it was old," he said.

Research on the internet showed the item bore a striking resemblance to Portuguese swivel guns, used on ships in the 16th century.

In July last year his mother, Barbara, alerted the Darwin Museum to the find, and sent in photos that she was told seemed to indicate it was genuine. But it has only been in the past few weeks that she has been asked to bring it in for further examination.

The youngster said a similar item had sold in Britain for £8000 ($15,600).

Portugal occupied Timor from 1515 until 1975, although it is hotly debated whether Portuguese explorers made it to Australia, about 700km away.

The earliest authenticated European contact with Australia was in 1606 by the Dutch vessel Duyfken.

- AAP