One of just two known posters of the first Aussie sports team to visit England has been found in a house clearance.
Auctioneers were shocked by the discovery showing the pioneering 1868 Australian Aboriginal cricket team.
It was the first Aussie sporting team to tour internationally 10 years before the Australian XI team made the journey for the first official test match in Britain.
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Its members had learned cricket while working as stockmen on cattle stations in western Victoria.
The 1868 tour was also a real cultural crossover of heritage with sport, with the Aboriginal team showcasing traditional skills of boomerang and spear-throwing alongside their cricketing prowess.
The only other known copy of the rare 159-year-old photographic print poster is at the Australian National Portrait Gallery.
The poster was found in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, as reported by Whats The Jam.
It was originally produced to promote the team’s six-month tour of England in 1868, which began with a game at the Oval, London in May to a crowd of 20,000.
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Team members included legendary 19th-century all-rounder Johnny Mullagh whose traditional name was Unaarrimin; Harry Bullocky, or Bullchanach, Dick-a-Dick, or Jungunjinanuke, Johnny Cuzens, or Zellanach, and Twopenny, or Murrumgunarriman.
Photographer Patrick Dawson of Hamilton, Victoria, took 16 individual portraits of the players and managers in his studio to create the composite picture.
The oval photographic print is laid onto a printed mount and was published in 1867 by HG De Gruchy & Co of Melbourne in anticipation of the tour.
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Each First Nations player was photographed in either customary cricketing pose or holding a weapon such as a boomerang or spear, as traditional skills were also showcased during exhibitions at the conclusion of a match.
Expert auctioneer and valuer David Fergus said: “Aboriginal cricketers have a pioneering history in Australia.
“Not only did the 1868 team become the first-ever Australian side to tour England, they did it a full 10 years before the Australian XI team made the journey for the first official test match on British soil.
“The cultural crossover of heritage with sport, with the Aboriginal team showcasing traditional skills alongside their cricketing prowess, emphasises the tour’s importance.
“So it was a special moment to discover this rare piece of Australian cultural history following a house clearance – I was certainly knocked for six.”
The six-month tour typically saw the team play two or three matches a week.
Johnny Mullagh was the outstanding player, scoring 1,698 runs and taking 245 wickets.
“The team won 14 and drew 19 of the 47 games they played in England so it’s sad to learn that they disbanded on returning home,” added Mr Fergus.
The poster is being auctioned by Richard Winterton Auctioneers in Lichfield, Staffs, on 20 April.
Specialists say it could fetch four figures at auction.
