IN 1868, the first team of Australian Aboriginal cricketers toured England. Then 120 years later another Aboriginal team followed in their footsteps. The story of these two teams is now on display at a special museum in Edenhope, Victoria. 

The story began on November 2, 1967, when a group of Indigenous men from Western Victoria gathered on the Queenscliff shoreline under the cover of darkness to go ‘fishing’. 

Their real objective, however, was not to fish, but to avoid the Victorian Aboriginal Protection Board. 

The men successfully boarded the steamship Rangatira for passage to Sydney, and eventually landed in the United Kingdom. They were the first Australian Cricket side to ever tour England. 

Once in England, they took to the field 99 days out of a possible 126, playing 47 matches in 40 centres. It’s a feat not matched by any team since. 

In 1988, a decision was made to recreate the original team from modern Indigenous players – to celebrate and honour the legacy of the original tour. 

Thirty-five First Nations men were selected from cricket teams across the country, many of whom were playing at the highest levels of state cricket. 

This select group were bundled off to the Australian Institute of Sport and were put through their paces – with a final selection of 11 men to train and prepare for a tour of England. 

Those 11 men spent time in Edenhope, Victoria, getting to know each other and immersing themselves in the history…