North Hobart Oval
Encyclopedia
North Hobart Oval is a sports venue
in North Hobart, Tasmania
, used for Australian rules football
.
The first official match to take place on North Hobart Oval was a TFL
match between Lefroy
and New Town
on 6 May 1922, the match was won by Lefroy (9.8.62 to 7.13.55) before 1,000-people.
in 1922 and remained so until the League was disbanded in 2000.
The ground hosted a total of 74 Tasmanian Football League
Grand Finals between 1922–1999 and also hosted the Tasmanian State Grand Final on 20 occasions between 1923–1975, also hosting the Winfield Statewide Cup Grand Final in 1980.
The final Tasmanian Football League
match to be held at the ground was the 2000 SWL
Preliminary Final between North Hobart and North Launceston (trading as the Hobart Demons and Northern Bombers at the time) which resulted in a narrow win to the Northern Bombers.
After pressure from Northern TFL clubs, notably the Northern Bombers, the TFL
scheduled the 2000 Grand Final to be played at Launceston's York Park
, marking the first (and ultimately last) TFL
Grand Final to be held away from North Hobart Oval since 1921.
The first official radio broadcast of a Tasmanian Football League
match took place at North Hobart on 9 May 1931 when former Cananore
player "Dinah" Green commentated on the match between North Hobart
and Lefroy
for radio station 7ZL.
After the disbandment of the TFL, the Southern Football League made the ground its Grand Final venue in both the Premier & Regional competitions and has done since 2000, it also hosts the Old Scholars Football Association Grand Final each year.
The Tasmanian Devils
VFL
side also played its Southern home fixtures at North Hobart from its inception in 2001 until AFL Tasmania moved the team to Bellerive Oval
in 2005 where its Centre Of Excellence was established and it could more adequately host corporate functions.
The first was in August 1924, which was won by Victoria
before an official attendance of 60,705 for the entire carnival, in 1947 a total of 67,271 attended the carnival which was played in deplorable conditions - including one match where a dog ran onto the ground and buried a saveloy in the mud in the centre of the ground. Victorian once again triumphed, this time on percentage.
The 1966 Carnival was the last to be played in Tasmania. A total attendance of 91,347 were present to view the matches played and once again, Victoria took the title defeating Western Australia in the final.
Some of the most memorable are Tasmania's triumph over Western Australia by 2-points in 1970 and the three State Of Origin matches held there in 1989 where 12,342 saw Tasmania hold Victoria to halftime before Victoria raced away to win.
24 June 1990 saw Tasmania finally get its revenge on the Big V, with a crowd of 18,653 packing North Hobart Oval, Tasmania raced away in the last quarter before a roaring crowd to record a 33-point win, its first over Victoria since 1960.
And in 1991 a peculiar draw from the AFL
scheduled the match to be played at 11am on a Tuesday morning (a working day in Hobart) - despite this, 14,086-people turned out to watch Tasmania fall agonizingly short after leading the Victorians for much of the game, the Victorians rushing home with a late flurry to win by 12-points.
Subsequently, through the rest of the 1990s Tasmania went on to defeat the South Australia, the WAFL and the VFA, all at North Hobart Oval.
Fitzroy would host two AFL Premiership Season matches in each of 1991 and 1992 but, due to the uncompetitive nature of Fitzroy at the time (including a 157-point belting by Hawthorn, the club's worst ever defeat) crowds were lower than expected and the cash-strapped Lions pulled out of the experiment at the end of 1992.
There were numerous other Foster's Cup and Ansett Cup pre-season matches held there during the 1990s.
The largest crowd for any of these matches was over 19,300 in 1996 for a Hydro Challenge pre-season practice match between the previous season's Grand Finalists, Carlton and Geelong which was won by Carlton.
Cricket, Association Football (soccer), ANZAC Day sports events and athletics have all been staged there at various times.
Australia played Hungary in soccer, and two World Records were established at North Hobart in athletics when Betty Cuthbert set a new world record for the 220-yard sprint on 7 March 1960 and Ron Clarke knocked off Vladimir Kuts (USSR) 5000m record on 16 January 1965.
In 1959 the Dr Billy Graham religious Crusade set an all-time attendance record for the ground with a crowd in excess of 25,000 attending, and in 1987, thousands attended a Military Tattoo at the ground.
The Argyle Street Stand (known today as the Horrie Gorringe Stand) was an 840-seat stand that began construction in 1923 and was opened in time for the 1924 Australian National Football Carnival.
The stand remained unaltered until the rear-half of the structure was gutted-out in June 1991 to build the North Hobart Football Clubrooms which in years to come would be the headquarters for AFL Tasmania.
The Letitia Street Stand was also erected in 1924. This was built of wood and was in a poor state of disrepair by the time it was burned down in an arson attack in May 1987, later replaced by the A$1.25 million Doug Plaister Stand that was completed in 1988.
The concrete Roy Cazaly Stand was built during 1960/1961.
Other works carried out were the building of players' tunnels at the foot of the Horrie Gorringe Stand and building the terraces (still in place today) during 1964/1965.
The main, electronic scoreboard, opened as the Gorringe Electronic Scoreboard, sponsored by the Donald Gorringe company in North Hobart, was constructed in 1972 and opened in time for the 1972 TANFL
Grand Final.
After being in a rundown and precarious condition for several years, its 569 light globes were removed and replaced by the Hobart City Council in May 2011, with a flat screen installed in place and new time clock installed.
The upgraded scoreboard was opened for use on 21 May 2011 for a TSL
match between North Hobart and Clarence.
In the 2009 TSL Season
, the ground was only scheduled to hold North Hobart
's home matches and one finals match, but due to the poor standard of the playing surface the match was transferred to the now-preferred Bellerive Oval
which marked the first TFL/TSL
Season since 1921 that the ground went without hosting a finals match.
The ground continued to host the Grand Final for the SFL
and for the Old Scholars Football Association
in 2009, but on 23 December 2009, it was announced by the SFL that they would be moving their operations and their Grand Final fixture to KGV Football Park
from 2010 and beyond
North Hobart Oval has repeatedly been the subject of discussions over potential future redevelment into a rectangular stadium in similar fashion to Perth Oval.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in North Hobart, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, used for Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
History
North Hobart Oval started its existence as Hobart Town's brickfields in 1844 before becoming a convict women's housing site, an immigration depot and an invalid persons' depot before closing in 1882 whereby the land became a rubbish dump until it was acquired for construction of a football stadium in 1921.The first official match to take place on North Hobart Oval was a TFL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
match between Lefroy
Lefroy Football Club
Lefroy Football Club were an Australian rules football club which competed in the Tasmanian Football League . They were known as the Blues and played their home games at North Hobart Oval as well as the Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground. Lefroy players wore dark and light blue as their club...
and New Town
Glenorchy Football Club
The Glenorchy District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League and the Southern Football League in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:...
on 6 May 1922, the match was won by Lefroy (9.8.62 to 7.13.55) before 1,000-people.
Football History
North Hobart Oval became League Headquarters for the TFL/TANFL/TFL Statewide LeagueTasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
in 1922 and remained so until the League was disbanded in 2000.
The ground hosted a total of 74 Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand Finals between 1922–1999 and also hosted the Tasmanian State Grand Final on 20 occasions between 1923–1975, also hosting the Winfield Statewide Cup Grand Final in 1980.
The final Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
match to be held at the ground was the 2000 SWL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Preliminary Final between North Hobart and North Launceston (trading as the Hobart Demons and Northern Bombers at the time) which resulted in a narrow win to the Northern Bombers.
After pressure from Northern TFL clubs, notably the Northern Bombers, the TFL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
scheduled the 2000 Grand Final to be played at Launceston's York Park
Aurora Stadium
York Park is a sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Australia. Holding 20,000 people—more than any other stadium in Tasmania—York Park has been known as Aurora Stadium under a six-year naming rights agreement signed with Aurora Energy in 2004...
, marking the first (and ultimately last) TFL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand Final to be held away from North Hobart Oval since 1921.
The first official radio broadcast of a Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
match took place at North Hobart on 9 May 1931 when former Cananore
Cananore Football Club
Cananore Football Club was an Australian rules football club, founded in 1901.It competed in the Tasmanian Football League as a junior club from 1901 to 1907, and as a senior club between 1908 and 1941....
player "Dinah" Green commentated on the match between North Hobart
North Hobart Demons
The North Hobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League.Players to reach Australian Football League level include Paul Williams, Peter 'Percy' Jones, Daryn Cresswell, Chris Bond, James Manson, Jim Wright, Tony Pickett and several other big...
and Lefroy
Lefroy Football Club
Lefroy Football Club were an Australian rules football club which competed in the Tasmanian Football League . They were known as the Blues and played their home games at North Hobart Oval as well as the Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground. Lefroy players wore dark and light blue as their club...
for radio station 7ZL.
After the disbandment of the TFL, the Southern Football League made the ground its Grand Final venue in both the Premier & Regional competitions and has done since 2000, it also hosts the Old Scholars Football Association Grand Final each year.
The Tasmanian Devils
Tasmanian Devils Football Club
Tasmania Football Club, nicknamed The Devils, was an Australian rules football club which competed in the Victorian Football League in Australia. Formed in 2001, it was the youngest and the only non-Victorian club in the league. The club was based in the state of Tasmania at Bellerive Oval and was...
VFL
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
side also played its Southern home fixtures at North Hobart from its inception in 2001 until AFL Tasmania moved the team to Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
in 2005 where its Centre Of Excellence was established and it could more adequately host corporate functions.
Australian Football Carnivals
North Hobart Oval has hosted three Australian National Football Carnivals.The first was in August 1924, which was won by Victoria
Victoria Australian rules football team
The Victorian Australian rules football team, also known as the Big V is the representative side of Victoria, Australia in the sport of Australian rules football....
before an official attendance of 60,705 for the entire carnival, in 1947 a total of 67,271 attended the carnival which was played in deplorable conditions - including one match where a dog ran onto the ground and buried a saveloy in the mud in the centre of the ground. Victorian once again triumphed, this time on percentage.
The 1966 Carnival was the last to be played in Tasmania. A total attendance of 91,347 were present to view the matches played and once again, Victoria took the title defeating Western Australia in the final.
Interstate & State Of Origin Matches
The ground hosted numerous IntraState, Interstate and State Of Origin clashes in its history.Some of the most memorable are Tasmania's triumph over Western Australia by 2-points in 1970 and the three State Of Origin matches held there in 1989 where 12,342 saw Tasmania hold Victoria to halftime before Victoria raced away to win.
24 June 1990 saw Tasmania finally get its revenge on the Big V, with a crowd of 18,653 packing North Hobart Oval, Tasmania raced away in the last quarter before a roaring crowd to record a 33-point win, its first over Victoria since 1960.
And in 1991 a peculiar draw from the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
scheduled the match to be played at 11am on a Tuesday morning (a working day in Hobart) - despite this, 14,086-people turned out to watch Tasmania fall agonizingly short after leading the Victorians for much of the game, the Victorians rushing home with a late flurry to win by 12-points.
Subsequently, through the rest of the 1990s Tasmania went on to defeat the South Australia, the WAFL and the VFA, all at North Hobart Oval.
VFL/AFL Matches at North Hobart
North Hobart's first VFL/AFL match took place (as part of a National Round) on 14 June 1952, where 18,387 crammed in to witness Fitzroy beat Melbourne by 20-points, 13-12 (90) to 10.10 (70).Fitzroy would host two AFL Premiership Season matches in each of 1991 and 1992 but, due to the uncompetitive nature of Fitzroy at the time (including a 157-point belting by Hawthorn, the club's worst ever defeat) crowds were lower than expected and the cash-strapped Lions pulled out of the experiment at the end of 1992.
There were numerous other Foster's Cup and Ansett Cup pre-season matches held there during the 1990s.
The largest crowd for any of these matches was over 19,300 in 1996 for a Hydro Challenge pre-season practice match between the previous season's Grand Finalists, Carlton and Geelong which was won by Carlton.
Other Notable Events
North Hobart Oval has hosted numerous other events throughout its long history.Cricket, Association Football (soccer), ANZAC Day sports events and athletics have all been staged there at various times.
Australia played Hungary in soccer, and two World Records were established at North Hobart in athletics when Betty Cuthbert set a new world record for the 220-yard sprint on 7 March 1960 and Ron Clarke knocked off Vladimir Kuts (USSR) 5000m record on 16 January 1965.
In 1959 the Dr Billy Graham religious Crusade set an all-time attendance record for the ground with a crowd in excess of 25,000 attending, and in 1987, thousands attended a Military Tattoo at the ground.
Development Of North Hobart Oval
The first of the grandstands to be built at North Hobart was the Ryde Street (George Miller) Stand in late-1921 and is still in existence, unaltered today.The Argyle Street Stand (known today as the Horrie Gorringe Stand) was an 840-seat stand that began construction in 1923 and was opened in time for the 1924 Australian National Football Carnival.
The stand remained unaltered until the rear-half of the structure was gutted-out in June 1991 to build the North Hobart Football Clubrooms which in years to come would be the headquarters for AFL Tasmania.
The Letitia Street Stand was also erected in 1924. This was built of wood and was in a poor state of disrepair by the time it was burned down in an arson attack in May 1987, later replaced by the A$1.25 million Doug Plaister Stand that was completed in 1988.
The concrete Roy Cazaly Stand was built during 1960/1961.
Other works carried out were the building of players' tunnels at the foot of the Horrie Gorringe Stand and building the terraces (still in place today) during 1964/1965.
The main, electronic scoreboard, opened as the Gorringe Electronic Scoreboard, sponsored by the Donald Gorringe company in North Hobart, was constructed in 1972 and opened in time for the 1972 TANFL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand Final.
After being in a rundown and precarious condition for several years, its 569 light globes were removed and replaced by the Hobart City Council in May 2011, with a flat screen installed in place and new time clock installed.
The upgraded scoreboard was opened for use on 21 May 2011 for a TSL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
match between North Hobart and Clarence.
North Hobart Oval's Future
Despite North Hobart Oval's long-standing tradition as the 'Home Of Football' in the South of the State, the future of the venue is looking increasingly shaky as other stadiums gradually have surpassed the now tired looking stadium.In the 2009 TSL Season
2009 TSL season
The 2009 AFL Tasmania TSL premiership season was an Australian rules football competition, staged across Tasmania, Australia over eighteen roster rounds and six finals series matches between 4 April and 19 September 2009....
, the ground was only scheduled to hold North Hobart
North Hobart Demons
The North Hobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League.Players to reach Australian Football League level include Paul Williams, Peter 'Percy' Jones, Daryn Cresswell, Chris Bond, James Manson, Jim Wright, Tony Pickett and several other big...
's home matches and one finals match, but due to the poor standard of the playing surface the match was transferred to the now-preferred Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
which marked the first TFL/TSL
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Season since 1921 that the ground went without hosting a finals match.
The ground continued to host the Grand Final for the SFL
Southern Football League (Tasmania)
The Southern Football League is an Australian rules football league which is based in Tasmania, Australia.- History :The Southern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1996 with the league's original clubs being those of the recently defunct Tasmanian Amateur Football League – Southern Division...
and for the Old Scholars Football Association
Old Scholars Football Association
The Old Scholars Football Association is an Australian Rules football competition in southern Tasmania, Australia.The competition currently stages an eighteen round roster season which is cut to a top four at the end of the roster series for a four match finals series played according to the...
in 2009, but on 23 December 2009, it was announced by the SFL that they would be moving their operations and their Grand Final fixture to KGV Football Park
KGV Oval
The KGV Oval is the home headquarters of the Glenorchy football and cricket clubs, as well as the Southern Football LeagueThe ground is a former TFL and now Tasmanian State League and also a Southern Football League finals venue....
from 2010 and beyond
North Hobart Oval has repeatedly been the subject of discussions over potential future redevelment into a rectangular stadium in similar fashion to Perth Oval.
Football Attendance Records
North Hobart Oval holds the top five of the top six ground attendance records in Tasmanian football history, including the highest roster match attendance ever recorded of 8,840 in 1967:- 24,968 - Clarence v Glenorchy - 19791979 TANFL seasonThe 1979 Tasmanian Australian National Football League premiership season was an Australian rules football competition staged in Hobart, Tasmania over twenty roster rounds and four finals series matches between 7 April and 22 September 1979....
TANFLTasmanian Football LeagueTasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand Final. - 24,413 - New Norfolk v Clarence - 19701970 TANFL seasonThe 1970 Tasmanian Australian National Football League premiership season was an Australian rules football competition staged in Hobart, Tasmania over twenty roster rounds and four finals series matches between 28 March and 12 September 1970....
TANFLTasmanian Football LeagueTasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand Final. - 23,764 - Tasmania v VFL - 1966 Australian National Football Carnival.
- 23,368 - Western Australia v VFL - 1966 Australian National Football Carnival.
- 20,775 - Sandy Bay v New Norfolk - 19641964 TANFL seasonThe 1964 Tasmanian Australian National Football League premiership season was an Australian Rules football competition staged in Hobart, Tasmania over nineteen roster rounds and four finals series matches between 4 April and 12 September 1964....
TANFLTasmanian Football LeagueTasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand Final.