The National Museum of Australis has spent more than $400,000 to secure a baggy green Australian cap worn by cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman.
The historic cap was worn by Bradman, acclaimed as the world’s greatest batsman, during the 1946–47 Ashes tour of Australia.
National Museum director Katherine McMahon said Bradman, who famously averaged an unrivalled 99.94 runs in Test matches, captained the Australian team in that series, which was the first played between Australia and England after the Second World War.
Ms McMahon said cricket had been far from front of mind during the war years, and the Test series represented a return to normality for Australians and ushered in a period of cricketing dominance.
She said the baggy green cap was acquired by the Canberra museum for $438,550, with half the funds provide by the Australian Government through the National Cultural Heritage Account.
“Sir Donald’s baggy green marks the life of Australia’s most celebrated batsman and reflects a time when sporting heroes gave Australians hope, following the heartbreak and hardship of the Second World War.”
Ms McMahon said the cap would go into the Museum’s National Historical Collection and was one of just 11 Bradman baggy greens known to exist.
She said the cap would be on display in the Museum’s recently reopened Landmarks gallery, which explored the moments and objects that helped define the nation’s history from 1770 to the present day.
“The baggy green will sit alongside other Bradman memorabilia at the Museum including an autographed bat from the first Test Match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, during the 1934 Ashes series won by Australia, and the ball bowled by First Nations cricketer Eddie Gilbert (Kanju) when he dismissed Bradman for a duck in a Sheffield Shield match in 1931.”
