A descendant of an Aboriginal warrior shot by a member of Captain Cook's crew has demanded the British Museum hand back a shield he believes belongs to his people.

Key points: The shield belonged to Gweagal warrior Cooman, who was shot in the leg in 1770 by Captain Cook's crew

The shield belonged to Gweagal warrior Cooman, who was shot in the leg in 1770 by Captain Cook's crew Gweagal man Rodney Kelly has travelled to London to ask for the shield's return

Gweagal man Rodney Kelly has travelled to London to ask for the shield's return The museum said it will not return the shield, but is willing to loan it back to Australia

Rodney Kelly is a descendant of the Gweagal warrior Cooman, who was shot in the leg in 1770 when the HMS Endeavour arrived at Botany Bay.

A shield and some spears were taken and the shield is now on display at the British Museum.

Cooman's shield is now held by the British Museum ( Supplied: © The Trustees of the British Museum )

Mr Kelly travelled to London to ask for this shield to be returned to his people.

He said the museum had no legitimate claim to the shield.

"I believe it was never theirs, they have no legal title over it," he said.

Close examination of the shield reveals a small hole thought to have come from a musket fired by a member of Captain Cook's crew.

"It was taken by gunfire; the legal title belongs to the descendants of the man who held it, and the people who were there that day … the people of Botany Bay, the Gweagal people," Mr Kelly said.

'The museum doesn't return objects'

While it has acknowledged the bark shield is of cultural significance to the Gweagal people, the British Museum is not about to return it.

Lissant Bolton from the museum's Oceania department said the museum was willing to loan the shield back to Australia.

But Mr Kelly has said he is "disgusted" by the museum's offer.

"The museum doesn't return objects in general, but we haven't had that many of these conversations," Ms Bolton said.

"I understand that there are many complex issues involved in returning to communities, and exactly where it goes, who it goes to, what part of the community's represented in the request — all those things are really, really important.

"It's really important to work collaboratively with communities, and that's something that we try and do."

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But Indigenous communities do not feel like the British Museum is listening to them.

The museum has continued to refuse to repatriate the remains of people it holds from the Torres Strait, and it remains the biggest holder of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural artefacts outside of Australia — artefacts Indigenous communities consider to be stolen.

Mr Kelly said the museum's lack of cooperation was disingenuous.

"They're not holding on to it just to show the world, they're holding onto it to have that power over us," he said.

He said he would not be giving up the fight to return his ancestor's bark shield back to Botany Bay.