Perry Park, Brisbane
Encyclopedia
Perry Park Stadium is a sporting ground located at Enoggera Park in the Brisbane
suburb of Bowen Hills
.
It is known widely as the "spiritual home of association Football" in Queensland
.
Perry Park is currently home to the Brisbane Strikers Football Club
, which plays in the Hyundai Queensland State League
(QSL).
William Raff was granted ownership of the land in 1857. He then subdivided the land in 1875, and the lot where Perry Park is now situated was sold to William Perry, among three other lots. Mr. Perry was a prominent Brisbane
ironmonger. He used the land essentially as his family cattle
and horse
paddock.
In the 1940s it was used as a base for the Z Special Unit
of the Australian, British and New Zealand armed forces
for their 1943 raid on Japanese occupied
Singapore
harbour. The ground was the home of Mayne Football Club and Valleys Cricket Club from 1925 to 1942 and 1948 to 1967.
Brisbane City Council acquired the land for a soccer grounds in 1967 and converted the oval into two rectangular pitches with the main pitch along Abbotsford road allocated as the main Perry Park stadium.
In 1977, Perry Park Stadium hosted its first National Soccer League
(NSL
) game between Brisbane City
and Sydney
club Marconi Fairfield
.
In recent times the ground has been home to the Brisbane Strikers
; however the Strikers did not play all of its home games there during its reign in the National Soccer League
(alternating between Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium)
, Ballymore
and Perry Park). The club now plays all of its home games there in the Hyundai Queensland State League
(QSL).
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
suburb of Bowen Hills
Bowen Hills, Queensland
Bowen Hills is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 3 km northeast of the Brisbane CBD. It was named after a Governor of Queensland, Sir George Ferguson Bowen.-History:...
.
It is known widely as the "spiritual home of association Football" in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
Perry Park is currently home to the Brisbane Strikers Football Club
Brisbane Strikers
The Brisbane Strikers are an Australian football club from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia who play in the Queensland State League.-National Soccer League:...
, which plays in the Hyundai Queensland State League
Queensland State League (association football)
The Hyundai Queensland State League, often abbreviated to the QSL, is a men's semi-professional association football league in the Australian state of Queensland...
(QSL).
Early history
ScotsmanScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
William Raff was granted ownership of the land in 1857. He then subdivided the land in 1875, and the lot where Perry Park is now situated was sold to William Perry, among three other lots. Mr. Perry was a prominent Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
ironmonger. He used the land essentially as his family cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
paddock.
In the 1940s it was used as a base for the Z Special Unit
Z Special Unit
Z Special Unit was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia...
of the Australian, British and New Zealand armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
for their 1943 raid on Japanese occupied
Japanese Occupation of Singapore
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
harbour. The ground was the home of Mayne Football Club and Valleys Cricket Club from 1925 to 1942 and 1948 to 1967.
Brisbane City Council acquired the land for a soccer grounds in 1967 and converted the oval into two rectangular pitches with the main pitch along Abbotsford road allocated as the main Perry Park stadium.
In 1977, Perry Park Stadium hosted its first National Soccer League
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
(NSL
NSL
- Business :* Northwestern Shiprepairers Limited, a British shipbuilding and repair company trading as NSL* NSL Buses, a bus operator in London, England, United Kingdom, owned by the NSL Services Group...
) game between Brisbane City
Brisbane City SC
Brisbane City Football Club is a football club based in Newmarket, Queensland. The club was formed in 1952, and currently play in the Brisbane Premier League...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
club Marconi Fairfield
Marconi Stallions
The Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian football club located in Sydney, Australia. The club won the National Soccer League title a record four times, along with South Melbourne FC and Sydney City SC...
.
In recent times the ground has been home to the Brisbane Strikers
Brisbane Strikers
The Brisbane Strikers are an Australian football club from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia who play in the Queensland State League.-National Soccer League:...
; however the Strikers did not play all of its home games there during its reign in the National Soccer League
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
(alternating between Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium)
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park is the original name of the site located in the Brisbane suburb of Milton, Queensland, Australia, now occupied by the major sports facility known by its sponsorship name, Suncorp Stadium...
, Ballymore
Ballymore
Ballymore may refer to:*Ballymore , an Irish property company*Ballymore, County Cork, village on Great Island, Cork Harbour, Ireland*Ballymore, County Donegal, Ireland*Ballymore, County Westmeath, Ireland*Ballymore, County Wexford, Ireland...
and Perry Park). The club now plays all of its home games there in the Hyundai Queensland State League
Queensland State League (association football)
The Hyundai Queensland State League, often abbreviated to the QSL, is a men's semi-professional association football league in the Australian state of Queensland...
(QSL).