Victoria Park, Melbourne
Old Girl; VP; Viccy Park | |
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| Former names | |
|---|---|
| Location | Abbotsford, Melbourne |
| Owner | City of Yarra |
| Operator | City of Yarra |
| Capacity | |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1882 |
| Opened | 1892 |
| Closed | 2004 |
| Demolished | NA |
| Construction cost | £600 (1892) |
| Architect | 1892 William Pitt |
| Tenants | |
Victoria Park was named after Queen Victoria in the 19th century and is both a massive park and the name of a football stadium in inner-city of Melbourne, Australia, and is located in the suburb of Abbotsford. It is known for being the former home of the Collingwood Football Club (a member of the Australian Football League).
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. The ground has gone through many changes over the last century and in the end has struggled to keep pace with the growing popularity of the sport that was played there.
History
Victoria Park, as it is known today, was originally subdivided into 12 hectare lots in the mid 1800s and sold at auction out of Sydney. One of these lots was purchased by John Dight, the lot was later to be called 'Dight's Paddock'. Dight then further subdivided the land and in 1878 Edwin Trenerry purchased a large portion of Dight’s Paddock and proceeded to further subdivide 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, Trenerry's solicitor, David Abbott and his clerk Frederick Brown (Edwin Trenerry's nephew) devised a plan that would see 10 1/4 acres of land sold 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 pounds/acre was attributed to the building of roads.
After ten years had passed since the council acquired the land, the council had not yet found a use for Victoria Park. 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, football and cricket matches. However, by 1892 the local Victorian Football competition, the VFA (Victorian Football Association), had grown very popular and all of Collingwood's neighbouring municipalities 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 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.
The first game at Victoria Park was witnessed by an estimated 16,000 patrons and although Collingwood lost, it signalled the amazing popularity and drawing power of the Collingwood Football Club and Victoria Park.
The first grand stand was completed midway through the 1892 season and it was not long before the club was back to the town hall asking the council to fund the construction of further facilities to accommodate the enormous following the Magpies 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 3000 supporters. The Ryder Stand was designed by architects Peck & Kemter, the steel-framed concrete stand with cantilevered roof was named after cricketer Jack Ryder and represented a club at the peak of its powers. By the end of the 1929 season Collingwood would complete the 3rd premiership of the record breaking four in a row. That team, under coach Jock McHale, would become known as The Machine and was perceived to be invincible at Victoria Park and all rival clubs dreaded travelling there. This was in stark contrast to the prevailing economic conditions as the suburb was one the hardest hit by the 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. Collingwood Football Club held out a helping hand and offered SUSSOs (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.
At the outbreak of WWII Collingwood Football Club, through club lawyer and former player, John (Jack) Galbally, challenged the liquor licence held by the German Club. There was a 122 licence limit in Victoria, no football clubs held a licence and none of the 122 licensees had changed since 1912. After protracted court proceedings Collingwood eventually had the German Club’s licence revoked, only to be faced with further battles with rival football clubs for the available licence. Jack Galbally prevailed in the end and in 1940 Collingwood had secured its immediate financial future. However, results on the field were poor and Collingwood failed to secure a premiership in this decade.
Jock McHale played 261 games, many as captain, for Collingwood in a great career at the beginning of the century and went on to coach his beloved Magpies for 716 games from 1912 to 1949. Upon his retirement, Phonse Kyne took over and by the end of the 1953 season he had secured another premiership for the club after a 17 year drought. With this success as a springboard, Collingwood went about engaging a reluctant council to provide for further improvements to the ground. The club was unsuccessful every time and it wasn’t until club secretary, Gordon Carlyon, made an amazing discovery that circumstances would finally favour the Collingwood Football Club. After failed attempts to gain control of Victoria Park in 1954 and 1955, Gordon was getting desperate and purchased a copy of the Local Councils Act to get a clearer view of the club’s rights. He was shocked to discover clause 237 that allowed a council to grant a 40 year major improvements lease. The City of Collingwood could lease the land to the Collingwood Football Club if the club agreed to undertake major improvements to the site. Gordon put this to the council and they voted 14 to 1 against the lease. On the second attempt it was knocked back by just 1 vote, 8 to 7. Gordon asked one of the dissenting councillors why they voted against the plan and was told that the councillors were afraid they would lose their right to free admission to games at Victoria Park. 30 free season tickets were immediately made available to the council and the 3rd vote in 1956 resulted in 14 in favour to just 1 against. In return, the club had to spend 250,000 pounds on improvements over the 40 years.
The Social Club, now known as the Bob Rose Stand, was first to be completed. Built to a design by architects Robert McIntyre & Associates and was opened in 1959 by the state governor, Sir Dallas Brooks. The current ground caretaker, Bob Sellers, was part of the crew of tradesmen that built the facility. Bob did the plumbing. The next stand to go up was the sweeping R T Rush stand in 1966, named after former player and club administrator Bob Rush and designed by McIntyre and McIntyre. This was a first for suburban football ground as fans in the outer now had significantly better viewing facilities than the old open concrete terrace and muddy hill. The facilities at Victoria Park now rivalled that of the MCG. The construction did not stop there, the old Member’s Stand was in a state of disrepair and was pulled down to make way for the Sherrin stand in 1969. The Sherrin was designed by Peter McIntyre & Associates. Only two thirds was completed and the final third was opened in 1978.
Right up to the late 80s work continued to upgrade and modernise the facilities at Victoria Park and the plans were laid down to create further covered seated areas for patrons as pressure was placed on the club by the new AFL competition to abandon the ground and relocate to the MCG. Local residents objected to the new plans. The Club secured approval from the council, but in a terrible twist of fate after the election that followed the new councillors retracted that support and would not allow the club to continue work on the development of the site. By 1994 Collingwood was playing only three games a season at home and in 1997 it was reduced to just two. Collingwood produced its worse on field record in the 1990s and for the first decade since the club’s inception in 1892, had lost more games than it had won. Many might say it was due to a club that had lost its home. The competition had ripped the heart out the club in a cold and calculated move to stop the mighty Magpies from ever dominating the league in the way it had in the past.
1999 saw the last game of League Football played at Victoria Park by the Collingwood Magpies. 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 this game and on a bleak, overcast day many tears were shed as people boarded the Epping line train to head home.
Recent Use
Collingwood Football Club continued to use the office facilities and trained at Victoria Park right up to 2004. Many supporters relishing the opportunity to return to the ‘old girl’ in 2002 and 2003 to watch the training sessions prior to the club’s Grand Final appearance. Unfortunately, the post match celebrations scheduled at Victoria Park turned terribly sour and once again the tears flowed.
Victoria Park is mostly silent now, though the ghosts of seasons and supporters past will live forever at the little stretch of land bordered by Lulie, Turner, Abbot, Bath Streets and Trenerry Crescent. The Collingwood Football Club has moved to the MCG for its home matches and to Olympic Park, Lexus Centre for its training and administration base, but Victoria Park will always remain the club's spiritual home.
Victoria Park played home to more than a century of football. 910 games resulted in 667 victories, only 233 losses and 10 draws. The club and the ground produced generations of the most passionate and devoted supporters the game has seen.
Opposition clubs and supporters hated the ground and all that it stood for. This was predominately to do with the fact that a visit to Victoria Park usually ended in plenty of abuse, intimidation and almost certainly a loss. Jack Dyer said his debut at Collingwood's home ground led him to be greeted by "the worst wave of sustained hate I have ever experienced" and there was plenty more to come.
A small Rec Footy competition has been run at the venue since 2004.
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