[press release]
Australia Post pays tribute to the 1868 Aboriginal XI
1st May 2018
Australia Post is releasing a stamp issue to commemorate 150th anniversary of the sporting achievements of the 1868 Aboriginal XI – the first cricket team from Australia to tour internationally.
The 1868 cricket tour of England was undertaken by the Aboriginal XI – a team of 13 Aboriginal cricketers, most of whom were Jardwadjali, Gunditjmara and Wotjobaluk men from the Western District of Victoria. Several of these players had played in a historic match against the Melbourne Cricket Club, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Boxing Day, 1866. Private financiers noticed their talent and asked English professional cricketer Charles Lawrence to captain and coach a team for a tour of England.
The 1868 Aboriginal XI equalled the playing record of their opponents, winning 14, losing 14 and drawing 19 of their 47 matches, played between May and October against local and county teams. The players were praised for their sportsmanship by the English press and met with enthusiasm by spectators.
Australia Post Philatelic Manager, Michael Zsolt said: “This was an extraordinary achievement by these players, all of whom, aside from the captain, had only been playing the game of cricket for a few years”.
“It is said that the success of this tour paved the way for the first representative tour of England, in 1878, as well as the first Test match against England, in 1880,” Mr Zsolt said.
The Aboriginal XI of 1868 were: Bullocky (Bullchanach), Charley Dumas (Pripumuarraman), Dick-a-Dick (Yangendyinanyuk), Jim Crow (Lytejerbillijun), Johnny Cuzens (Zellanach), Johnny Mullagh (Unaarrimin), King Cole (Bripumyarrimin), Mosquito (James Couzens) (Grougarrong), Peter (Arrahmunijarrimun), Red Cap (Brimbunyah), Sundown (Ballrinjarrimin), Tiger (Bonnibarngeet), Twopenny (Jarrawuk/Murrumgunarrimin), captained by Charles Lawrence.
The domestic base-rate ($1) stamp, designed by Phil Ellett of Creative Ethos, incorporates player portraits from one of the few remaining photographs from the 1868 tour, from the National Library of Australia. Featured are the team and their manager (minus King Cole, who had passed away from illness, and Sundown and Jim Crow, who had returned home).
Most players returned to the restrictions of station life following the tour, with few continuing to play cricket. In 2002, the 1868 Aboriginal XI was posthumously recognised in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as the first cricket team from Australia to tour England. In 2004, each player was posthumously assigned an official Cricket Australia number, to honour their ground-breaking achievements.
The products associated with this stamp issue are: a first day cover, sheetlet pack and maxicard. The First Cricket Tour: 150 Years stamp issue is available from 1 May 2018 at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps, while stocks last.
