The events will remember the 150^th anniversary of the First XI Aboriginal team that was the first to represent Australia abroad in 1868.

Edenhope Aboriginal Cricket committee member Helen Mulraney-Roll said she wanted people to get back to Edenhope where it all started.

“It’s a really great story,” she said. “We have a really rich history here – they came to Edenhope to practice on the shores of Lake Wallace.

“It’s really important that people get to learn the real story and also the importance of a team effort. I believe that the team aspect is most important.”

The Edenhope community also celebrated the team on the 120^th anniversary on 1988 with a game between an Aboriginal team and one filled with players of European descent.

Les Knox, Vince Copley and Mark Ella brought the teams together from across Australia for the match with the Aboriginal team then going on to England to reenact the 1868 tour.

Copley and Knox will return to be part of the event along with 10 of the players from the Aboriginal team.

Former Australian test player Peter Sleep and five other players from the opposing team will also make the trip back to Edenhope. The players will all be involved in a special ten10 match on Saturday.

Mulraney-Roll said she had some difficulties tracking down some of the players involved but that it would be a great opportunity to recognise them as well as the 1868 team. 

“It’s also about the wider Wimmera region as well. We want to get people to come out here to have a look, see what we have and see where these players came from,” she said.

Stories will be told, friendships will be rekindled and games will be played before visitors get the chance to tour significant sites in the region.

The tour will start from Henley Park before it heads to Bringalbert, Apsley and Dergholm before returning to Edenhope.

At each stop the tour will add further depth to the story while visiting memorials of some of the 1868 touring players.

Buses will also travel to Harrow and Goroke to take in other significant sites.

“The idea is to give them a great idea of where these sites are so that if they come back they can show them to other people and share the story,” Mulraney-Roll said.

A special screening of the film Dreaming of Lords, which details the story of the 1968 team, will also take place on Saturday.

There will be cricket matches on both days from 2pm as well as clinics for children with an exhibition at the school and entertainment which goes into the evening.

“We’ve really tried to jam pack a lot into the weekend,” Mulraney-Roll said.