The group’s Jillian Lye said there had been no consultation with the Worimi Aboriginal people by Port Stephens Council in drafting its contentious plan of management for the Raymond Terrace park.

“As a group we have been trying to get all the history we can about the park,” she said.

“The only thing that is missing is the Aboriginal significance of the park.”

While not authenticated as being an Aboriginal artifact, the stone found by BPAG member Helen Brown last week was looked at by a Worimi elder who believed it could have been used as a cutting tool.

The stone is palm-sized. It has smooth edges where it fits into the hand, and a jagged outer edge.

A former Port Stephens councillor, Mrs Brown was instrumental in creating the plan of management currently in place for the park.

“It needs to be protected,” she said.

Mrs Brown said she believed the stone, which she found near the water tower, could have been uncovered due to all of the recent wet weather.

The find comes despite a visual inspection in the park for archaeological sites by a senior archaeologist from Umwelt in December and a check of an Office of Environment and Heritage database in January, which showed no Aboriginal sites existed within Boomerang Park or 2.5 kilometres around it.

Port Stephens councillor Peter Kafer, who has been vocal in his opposition against the plan of management, asked how the draft could stand up when there was no consultation with the traditional owners of the land.

“There’s been absolutely no contact with the Worimi Local Land Aboriginal Council or any Aboriginal person about the significance of Boomerang Park to Worimi people,” Cr Kafer said.

“How can you do a report that requires an assessment on Aboriginal heritage when you haven’t spoken to anyone? 

“How can that stand up?

“It doesn’t.”

Following Tuesday’s meeting, where the majority of councillors voted to place the plan of management on public exhibition, Cr Kafer put in a rescission motion.

This stopped the document being placed on exhibition and the matter will again be debated at the next council meeting on Tuesday, February 9.

"Depending on the outcome of the rescission motion, the delay in formally commencing the exhibition period will not have a negative impact on the community's ability to be engaged in the consultation process," Jason Linnane, the council's group manager or facilities and services, said.

Cr Kafer said an in-depth archaeological study should be done on the site to further understand the history, prior to colonial settlement, of the park.

In its bid to further understand the history and heritage significance of Boomerang Park, the action group is asking anyone with rocks or artifacts the believed to have Aboriginal significance to get in touch with them.

By doing so, the group could map where artifacts have been found.

Contact the group through the Boomerang Park Action Group Facebook page.