We crossed into Victoria today…

It took us a long time to get packed up in Naracoorte this morning but once we got going we had crossed the border into Victoria in no time.

We intended to stop at Harrow as Trevor knew about an Aboriginal cricket team that came from the area and was the first Australian team to tour England back in 1868. The stop before Harrow was a town called Edenhope. We stopped off here as we saw a sign about an Aboriginal cricket memorial off the main road. It was a 7 foot granite memorial to the team erected on the site of Edenhope College in honour of the team who used to train in the area. Here we got a quick snapshot of the team and the events surrounding the tour. When we got to Harrow, I found this initial stop in Edenhope really worthwhile as it gave me some background. More on this later…

The town of Harrow was so worth a visit. The local historical society has set up an old settler’s cottage of three rooms and a hallway that is always open. The historic treasures are protected from damage by metal screens that still allow you to get a good idea of life in the 1860s. The kitchen was very basic in modern terms. No fridge, instant hot water or stove – it had only an open fire to cook over. There was no electricity and only kerosene lamps for light. The bedrooms had walls of hessian sacks and were otherwise very sparse. The roof was originally shingled as it shows in this photo, but later was covered in tin. The family that lived in the cottage was a married couple with 10 children. When all ten children lived at home there were two sleepouts at the front and the back of the house.

Also on this site was a Log Gaol. Max was very dismissive of such a thing before we got there ‘they could just set fire to it and escape!’. However when we saw the jail we understood that it was, in fact, very secure!

This jail was just so secure – even at over 150 years old it was as solid as a rock! Every log was so dense and heavy and trying to escape would  be futile!

Unfortunately there was no information there as to how many prisoners were held, and whether it was just a holding cell… I would have liked to know more. I bet those timbers could tell a tale or two!

 

Another interesting display showed some wall that was part of the original Cobb & Co stable in the town. Our rig is in the background.

 

 

 

The main reason for our visit to Harrow was to find out more about the Aboriginal cricket team. We found everything we wanted to know at the ‘Johhny Mullagh Cricket Centre’. The Centre is manned by volunteers and has used diaries, photos and other memorabilia from the time to put together a fantastic display about the team and about cricket in general. Now most of you will know that cricket has grown on me over the years thanks to Trevor’s, and now Max’s involvement, but it still not my favourite thing in the world…. this museum however was just fascinating. It gave a lot of interactive information about early life in the area which I am always interested in. It also told the story chronologically about the team’s formation, international tour and eventual dissolution.

 

The first Aboriginal Cricket team of 1865-66 which includes some of the men who were in the touring team of 1868.

Just a brief history… white settlers often played cricket when they settled in Victoria in the 1840s. Aboriginal men would observe and would sometimes throw a ball back from the boundary. Their throws were incredibly powerful and accurate. As a result they were encouraged to participate in games. Fast forward some years, and whiteman Charles Lawrence saw the opportunity to make some money and captained the first Aboriginal cricket team to tour England. The team were very popular and travelled England extensively by train.

As well as playing cricket, they would often put on a show of athletics, cricket skills and traditional Aboriginal skills for spectators. For example, one team member Dick-a-dick would stand 15 to 20 metres from people and challenge them to pelt him with cricket balls, while in one hand he held a wooden shield (about 1m x 9cm in size) and the other hand held a wooden club to protect himself. Even when three (or in one report seven) balls were pelted at him he managed to deflect them all and laugh at his “attackers”.

This museum is definitely worth a visit – even for people not overly enthused by “The Game”! I find the history of white settlement and black experience in Australia incredibly intriguing. The museum gives a glimpse into one chapter of this complicated relationship. Even after 220 years of white settlement or white invasion (depending on your point of view) the relationship remains chaotic.