ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA.- The South Australian Museum presents the Ashes Urn Exhibition, on view through December 6, 2006. The Ashes Urn Exhibition in association with Travelex, will be on display at the South Australian Museum coinciding with the second Test in the 2006-2007 3 mobile Ashes Series to be held in Adelaide.

The urn and contents symbolised the death of English cricket at the hands of the Australians after they defeated England for the first time on English soil in August 1882. The urn is said to contain the ashes from one of the bails from the 1882-83 Test cricket matches in Australia, which was burnt by a group of Melbourne ladies and presented to England captain Ivo Bligh. The urn had previously been given to Bligh by the group which included the future Mrs Bligh: they became Lord and Lady Darnley.

On Lord Darnley’s death in 1927 the Ashes were bequeathed to the Marylebone Cricket Club and they have been the unofficial icon of the Ashes Test series ever since.

The last time the Ashes were displayed in Australia was in 1988 when they were briefly on show in Sydney as part of the Bicentenary Celebrations.