THE Burnie tip is believed to be the final resting place of a unique piece of Australian cricket memorabilia.
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What may have been one of the first autographed bats in the history of the sport was passed down through several generations of a Tasmanian family before meeting its ignominious end.
The tale came to light after The Examiner published a review of The Strangers Who Came Home ($30, Bloomsbury), John Lazenby's account of the first Australian team to tour England some four years before the birth of the Ashes.
The review related how Victorian Jack Conway invited Tasmanian duo John Arthur and George Bailey along for the historic 1878 tour.
While Bailey accepted the invitation, setting in motion an international cricketing dynasty still going today through his great-great grandson, namesake and Tasmanian captain, Arthur died in mysterious circumstances at his Longford home just two days after receiving Conway's letter.
Launceston estate agent Robert Harrison contacted The Examiner to say his great-grandfather Charles Arthur was John's brother and played alongside him for Tasmania.
Mr Harrison explained that when the touring party heard that John Arthur would not be joining them they sent him a bat which they all signed.
"My great aunt Eddie Arthur had the bat hanging in her sitting room," he recalled. "The bat had been cut down so that my great uncles could play cricket in the backyard and she proudly looked after it.
"From memory, the writing said they hoped he would get well and underneath all the players signed their names.
"I was fortunate enough to often handle and view this object on many occasions until she went into a retirement home in the late 1970s and the bat went to her son's home in Burnie."
The fate of the treasured family heirloom is uncertain, but Mr Harrison has his suspicions.
"Unfortunately it ended up with her son, who was not a cricketer, and around 1980 I understand that it was thrown out when he moved house.
"He had it in his garage at Burnie and when he moved to Ridgley I reckon it went to the Burnie tip.
"I used to handle this bat and knew how precious it was. I nearly cried when I heard where it had gone.
"It would have been one of the very first autographed cricket bats and one of the most valuable bits of cricket memorabilia in Australia."
While the bat may have ended up in the great cricket pitch in the sky, Mr Harrison proudly retains a framed photo of a cricket match between Entally and Westbury on November 15, 1869.
Featuring John, Charles and two other Arthur brothers playing and their father Charles snr umpiring, the match also saw Governor Sir Charles Du Cane make 10 runs.
"I understand this may well be the oldest photo of a cricket game in Australia," Mr Harrison said.
Continuing the Tasmanian link to this chapter in Australian cricket, Mr Harrison and John Bailey played cricket together as did their sons Edward and George at Launceston Church Grammar School.