Original Ashes Urn to be loaned to Victoria’s State Library for Velvet, Iron, Ashes exhibition

The iconic Ashes Urn will hit Australian soil for the third time in 137 years as the centrepiece of a landmark new exhibition. Here’s where and when you can see the pint-sized trophy.

The iconic Ashes Urn will hit Australian soil for the third time in 137 years as the centrepiece of a landmark new exhibition.

The pint-sized trophy is traditionally kept behind glass at Lord’s Cricket Ground with replicas sent to Australia when it hosts the biennial cricket clash against England.

But the urn will be loaned exclusively to Victoria’s State Library in the months after this year’s five-test clash.

THE LOVE STORY BEHIND THE ASHES

HANDSCOMB FORCING ASHES KEEPER DEBATE

INSIDE STORIES OF THE ASHES: IAN HEALY

It will be showcased in the library’s largest free exhibition, Velvet, Iron, Ashes, which reveals the urns’ surprising connection to Ned Kelly and Yallourn power station.

Library chief executive Kate Torney said the urn was woven into Victoria’s history.

“We are thrilled to have the chance to bring to life the wonderful stories surrounding the Ashes tradition, which began here in Melbourne,” she said.

The original Ashes Urn will be on display over summer. Picture: Supplied

Marylebone Cricket Club chief executive Guy Lavender said the urn captivated people worldwide.

“The State Library’s exhibition is a very fitting place for its story to be told,” he said.

Western suburb Sunbury has been dubbed the birthplace of the Ashes, with the urn first handed to England captain Ivo Bligh at Rupertswood Estate in 1882.

The presentation followed an English cricket defeat months earlier and a mock newspaper obituary that read: “The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.”

Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting with the original Ashes Urn on its last tour of Australia. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The urn last left Lord’s for a tour of seven Australian museums, seen by more than 105,000 people, in 2006 and 2007.

Creative Industries Minister Martin Foley said the exhibition would be the library’s “largest and most ambitious”.

“Cricket lovers and history buffs will be bowled over by this rare opportunity to get up close to the iconic Ashes Urn,” he said.

The Ashes Urn will be on display in the library’s new Victoria Gallery from December this year until February 2020.

[e-mail]

@moniquehore

MORE CRICKET NEWS:

SMITH: I’LL BE FIT FOR WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN

NEW SURFER MITCH EVEN COPS BRUTAL SLEDGE ON THE WAVES

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR HAZLEWOOD