Victoria Park, Melbourne
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| Victoria Park | |
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| Old Girl, VP, Vic Park | |
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| Location |  Abbotsford, Melbourne |
| Opened | 1892 |
| Closed | 2004 |
| Owner | City of Yarra |
| Operator | City of Yarra |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | £600[citation needed] |
| Architect | William Pitt[citation needed] |
| Former names | Dight's Paddock Jock McHale Stadium |
| Tenants | Collingwood Magpies (VFL/AFL) (1892-1999) Fitzroy Lions (VFL/AFL) (1985-86) |
| Capacity |
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Victoria Park is a sports venue in Abbotsford, Australia. Built for the purpose of both Australian rules football and cricket, the stadium is oval shaped. It was the home ground of the Collingwood Football Club for 107 years from 1892 through to 1999, the longest association between a club and stadium in Australian rules football history.[1] It was also the home ground for the Fitzroy Football Club for the 1985 and 1986 seasons as they continued to look for a proper home ground. Since then the ground has been used minimally by some regional cricket and football clubs.
One of the larger suburban grounds during the Victorian Football League, the ground was eventually abandoned because of the increasing growth of Australian rules football in the country and the desire to attract as many spectators to games as possible.
The ground was originally meant to be demolished after it closed down completely after 1999 however, the ground is on the Victorian Heritage Register, meaning that it cannot be demolished. The City of Yarra is currently in the process of evaluating its future use and has committed itself to maintaining the football oval and many of the current structures on the site.[2]
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[edit] History
[edit] Development
The land surrounding Victoria Park, as it is known today, was taken from the Wurrunjeri people, subdivided in 1838 and sold at an auction in Sydney. One of these lots was purchased by John Dight and the lot was later called Dight's Paddock. Dight then further subdivided the land into 12 hectare lots and in 1878 Edwin Trenerry, a Cornwall-based property developer, purchased a large portion of Dight’s Paddock for his nephew Fredrick Trenerry Brown and proceeded to further subdivide it for a residential estate. In order to provide recreational facilities for potential residents and hence boost the value of the lots being offered for sale Fred Brown and solicitor, David Abbott created a sports oval and called it Victoria Park in 1879. They then devised a plan that would see the ten and one-quarter acres of land given to the council in return for the construction of roads within the estate. To stop the cash-strapped council from creating a rival development, a covenant was included that prohibited the on-selling of the land to private individuals and the land was to be for the "resort and recreation" of all the people of the City of Collingwood. In 1882 the transaction took place and the Collingwood City Council avoided any scrutiny from its rate payers by recording the sale as a "gift" and ₤250-an-acre was attributed to the "building of roads".[citation needed]
Ten years had passed since the council acquired the land, the council had not yet found a long term use for the area. Many applications from various sporting clubs for exclusive use of the land were rejected as this would be seen to favour one section of the community over all others and went against the terms of the land's sale. The council had created an oval surrounded by a cycling track that was used for cycling, Australian rules football and cricket matches. However, by 1892 the local Victorian football competition, the Victorian Football Association, had grown very popular and all of Collingwood's neighbouring suburbs had representative teams in that competition. Fitzroy was particularly strong and this drew the ire of most Collingwood residents who saw the need for a local side that represented the suburb. In February of 1892 a large crowd gathered at the Collingwood Town Hall to discuss the possibility of a Collingwood team making an application to join the VFA. Despite the prevailing economic gloom of the 1890s depression the decision was close to unanimous and it was proclaimed that the team should play at Victoria Park. Plans were quickly put down by the council for the construction of a grand stand and player facilities to be designed by architect William Pitt. Unfortunately the facilities were not completed in time for the club's first home game to be played against Carlton and the players had to change at the Yarra Hotel on Johnston Street and run to the ground.[citation needed]
[edit] Collingwood and Victoria Park
The first game at Victoria Park was witnessed by an estimated 16,000 spectators and although Collingwood lost, it signaled the amazing popularity and drawing power of the Collingwood Football Club and Victoria Park.[citation needed]
The first major stand was completed midway through the 1892 season and it was not long before the club was back at the town hall asking the council to fund the construction of further facilities to accommodate the enormous following the club generated. In 1900 the Ladies Stand was constructed and in 1909 architect Thomas Watt designed the Member's Stand. The Ladies Stand on the grounds north side, along Abbott Street, was pulled down in 1929 to make way for the Jack Ryder Stand. This grandstand would provide state of the art facilities for players of both the Collingwood Football and Cricket Clubs and also seated approximately 3,000 supporters. The Ryder Stand was designed by architects Peck and Kemter. The steel-framed concrete stand with cantilevered roof was named after cricketer Jack Ryder.[3]
By the end of the 1929 season Collingwood had completed the third premiership of the record breaking four in a row. The team was perceived to be invincible at Victoria Park and all rival clubs dreaded traveling there. This was in stark contrast to the prevailing economic conditions as the suburb was one the hardest hit by the Great Depression.
For many in the area, to see the Magpies win at Victoria Park was the only relief from melancholy of daily life on the unemployment queue. The football club offered sustenance workers free entry to games during this period. Victoria Park had grown to be more than just a sporting arena and was now a beacon of hope in a very bleak world.
In 1953 Collingwood won it's first football premiership since 1936. With this success as a springboard, Collingwood started negotiations with the local council to provide for further improvements to the ground. The club was unsuccessful every time until a technicality was found in the Local Council's Act that allowed Collingwood to own the ground on lease if ₤250,000 of improvements to the ground was made over the next 40 years. The council voted in favour of this and Collingwood owned the ground on lease.
[edit] Ground improvements
The social club, now known as the Bob Rose Stand, was the first to be completed. It was opened in 1959 by the state governor, Sir Dallas Brooks. The next stand to go up was the R.T. Rush stand in 1966, named after former player and club administrator Bob Rush. TThis allowed fans to have a significantly better view than the old open concrete terrace and hill. The facilities at Victoria Park now rivaled that of the MCG.[citation needed] The old Member’s Stand was pulled down to make way for the Sherrin stand in 1969. Only two thirds were completed and the final third was finished in 1978.
In 1985, Fitzroy moved to Victoria Park amongst a string of moves from one ground to another. Fitzroy stayed for two seasons without much financial success before moving back to Princes Park.
Right up to the late 1980s work continued to upgrade and modernize the facilities at the ground and the plans were laid down to create further covered seated areas for patrons as pressure was placed on the club by the new nationally-based competition to abandon the ground and relocate to the MCG.[citation needed] Local residents objected to the new plans. The club secured approval from the council, but after the election that followed the new councilors retracted that support and would not allow the club to continue work on the development of the site.
[edit] Downfall
By 1994, Collingwood was playing only three games a season at the ground and in 1997 it was reduced to just two. In 1996 the cricket club moved away from the ground after a 100 year association with it.[1] In 1999 the last match at Victoria Park was played. It was against the new Brisbane Lions, a product of the new AFL that necessitated the merger between the Fitzroy Lions and the Brisbane Bears. Collingwood lost by 42 points and finished on the bottom of the ladder for just the second time in their history.
[edit] Recent use
Following the move to the MCG, Collingwood has seen an increased number of spectators see their games, thanks to the much larger capacity of the stadium. Collingwood used Victoria Park for their training sessions leading into the 2002 and 2003 AFL Grand Final matches. The ground was also used for some of the pre-season matches prior to the 2004 AFL season. The ground is still considered to be the club's spiritual home.[1] Collingwood moved it's training facilities from Victoria Park to the Lexus Centre in Yarra Park in 2004.
Plans for the ground to be demolished following Collingwood's move away from the ground have become drawn out over a number of years because the ground is protected under the Victorian Heritage Register because of its cultural heritage significance at state level. Plans for demolition and reconstruction on the site have said that the oval will remain even if the stands do not.
[edit] Structure
The interior of Victoria Park is shaped in an oval, almost a circle, to fit with the boundaries of the playing field. Whist there were no large display devices set up at the ground during it's existence, one was set up via crane for the final game.
The ground is made up of several stands:
- Bob Rose Stand. This made up Collingwood's social club and administration base until 2004. Most of the spectator room was standing room only on concrete with some seats inside the social club on the second floor. Administration was on the third floor, above the social club.
- R.T. Rush Stand. This stand made up most of one of the wings and was directly opposite the Bob Rose Stand.
- Sherrin Stand. This area was reserved mostly for the Collingwood cheer squad and other Collingwood members. It was located behind the goals and was on the right hand side to the Bob Rose Stand. The stand was completely under cover.
- Ryder Stand. This was made up of wooden seating. It was located on the left hand side of the Bob Rose Stand and opposite the R.T. Rush Stand. This stand was completely under cover.
Part of the ground did not have a stand in place, just grass. This was for standing room. No lighting for the playing field was built and therefore the venue did not host night game once they were introduced. Some lights were installed for darker day games to support the player's vision. Entry into the ground was by manned turnstile and could be made from all stands.
[edit] Transport
The ground is located to the East of the Melbourne Central Business District, roughly 20 minutes driving time. The ground had limited parking space on match days which has now been locked now that the ground is unused. The ground has its own railway station about 200 metres from the ground, situated on the Hurstbridge and Epping lines.
[edit] References
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