Aboriginal artefacts discovered from first Australian tour of England in 1868

The Aboriginal cricket team which toured England in 1968

A number of Aboriginal artefacts on display in a small British museum in Exeter have been identified as rare survivors of Australia's first ever cricket tour of England in 1868, the first time in history the England team had played host to a visiting team. There had been three foreign tours before – all undertaken by England, the inventors of the game.

On the sidelines of the historic battle for the Ashes urn, the discovery of the artefacts harking to a time even more ancient than the Ashes urn itself has created quite a sensation.

Australian curator Dr Gaye Sculthorpe made the discovery when it came to her notice that the objects had the name of WR Hayman inscribed – the manager of the Aboriginal cricket team that toured England from May to October in 1868.

It is being inferred that following the tour, the collection of wooden objects – including firesticks, spears, and a boomerang – was donated to the museum. The artefacts in Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum include a boomerang, several clubs, two spear-throwers, two spears, two 'parrying sticks' and firesticks.

The tour and the team

The visiting Aboriginal team played 47 matches, but their exploits were not confined to the cricket field. They also put up traditional skills such as boomerang and spear throwing – they also dodged cricket balls thrown at them before and after the cricket matches.

"These artefacts (are) of great significance as tangible evidence of this historic tour, the first Australian cricket tour to England”, said Dr Sculthorpe, curator and section head of Oceania at the British Museum.

The Australian aboriginal team comprised of stockmen from cattle farms, who had been handpicked and trained by English pastoralist and cricket enthusiast William Reginald Hayman, the gentleman who had donated the artefacts to the museum.

Members of the first team to visit England:

Johnny Mullagh – traditional name: Unaarrimin

Bullocky – traditional name: Bullchanach. A wicketkeeper, Bullocky was referred to as "at once the blackBannerman and Blackham of his team"

Sundown – traditional name: Ballrin

Dick-a-Dick – traditional name: Jungunjinanuke

Johnny Cuzens – traditional name: Zellanach

King Cole – traditional name: Bripumyarrimin

Red Cap – traditional name: Brimbunyah

Twopenny – traditional name: Murrumgunarriman

Charley Dumas – traditional name: Pripumuarraman

Jimmy Mosquito – traditional name: Grougarrong, who "could walk upright under a bar and then jump it in a stander”

Tiger – traditional name: Boninbarngeet

Peter – traditional name: Arrahmunijarrimun

Jim Crow – traditional name: Jallachniurrimin