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Victoria Park
Old Girl; VP; Viccy Park
Location	Abbotsford, Melbourne
Broke ground	1882
Opened	1892
Closed	2004
Demolished	NA
Owner	City of Yarra
Operator	City of Yarra
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	£600 (1892)
Architect	1892 William Pitt
Former names	Dight's Paddock; Jock McHale Stadium
Tenants
Collingwood Football Club; Collingwood Cricket Club; Fitzroy Football Club; St Kevins Grammar School Amateurs
Capacity
28,000

Victoria Park was named after Queen Victoria ^{[citation needed]} in the 19th century and is both a large park and the name of an Australian rules 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). Image File history File links Wikitext. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 490 pixelsFull resolution (2393 × 1467 pixel, file size: 2. ... Abbotsford (parts of which were also known as Carringbush at the turn of the 19th century) is a small inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, nestled in between Collingwood, Richmond and Clifton Hill and separated from Kew by the meandering Yarra River. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... Year 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... “GBP” redirects here. ... Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies , is an Australian rules football club involved, and playing in the Australian Football League. ... Fitzroy Football Club, most recently nicknamed The Lions, was an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) on its inception in 1897. ... Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... High marking is a key skill and spectacular attribute of Australian rules football Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Australian rules football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of... The new Wembley Stadium in London is the most expensive stadium ever built; it has a seating capacity of 90,000 This article is about the building type. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... “Suburbia” redirects here. ... Abbotsford (parts of which were also known as Carringbush at the turn of the 19th century) is a small inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, nestled in between Collingwood, Richmond and Clifton Hill and separated from Kew by the meandering Yarra River. ... Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies , is an Australian rules football club involved, and playing in the Australian Football League. ... This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ...

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.^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]} The Victorian Heritage Register is maintained by Heritage Victoria, part of the Department of Sustainability and Environment a department of the Government of Victoria, Australia. ... The City of Yarra is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. ...

History

The land surounding Victoria Park, as it is known today, was taken from the Wurrunjeri people and subdivided in the mid 1800s and sold at auction in 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 into 12 hectare lots and in 1878 Edwin Trenerry, a Cornwall (UK) based property developer, 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/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, Australian rules 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 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. VFA may refer to: Victorian Football Association, an Australian rules football competition established in the 19th Century that was superseded as the elite competition by the 1897 establishment of the Victorian FootbalL League. ... The Victorian Football Association (1877-1995) or the VFA for short, was the first Australian Football body established in Australia, formed in 1877, almost 20 years before that of the Victorian Football League (VFL). ... Fitzroy Football Club, most recently nicknamed The Lions, was an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) on its inception in 1897. ... Close up of the Collingwood Town Hall Collingwood Town Hall on Hoddle Street Collingwood Town Hall is a civic building located on Hoddle Street in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. ...

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. John (Jack) Ryder (born August 8, 1889 in Collingwood, Melbourne, Victoria - died April 3, 1977 in Fitzroy, Melbourne) was an Australian cricketer. ... James Jock McHale, (December 12, 1882 - 4 October 1953) was an Australian rules player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League. ... The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a select coalition of traditionally-white fraternities and sororities which formed a secret society with enormous influence over campus, state, and southern politics. ...

At the outbreak of WWII Collingwood Football Club, through club lawyer and former player, 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 and only managed to play finals once. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

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 on improvements over the 40 years. Phonse Kyne, 29 Oct 1915 - 8 April 1985, was a centre half-forward for Collingwood who later went on to coach the Magpies. ...

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 finished in 1978. Robert Bob Rose (born August 7, 1928, died July 7, 2003) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. ... List of Governors of Victoria See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... General Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks was the 19th Governor of Victoria. ...

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.^{[citation needed]} Joseph McG McGinty Nichol (born November 30, 1968) is an American film producer and director. ...

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. This article is about the AFL club. ... Brisbane Lions logo The Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club, formed from the post-1996 merger of the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy, the Lions. ... Brisbane Bears were an Australian rules football Club and was the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League. ...

Recent Use

Ryder wing of Victoria Park

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 AFL Grand Final appearance. Unfortunately, the post match celebrations scheduled at Victoria Park turned terribly sour and once again the tears flowed. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A Grand Final is the culmination of a series of final matches played between a number of sporting teams to decide the premier team. ...

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 did host a few pre-season practice matches in the lead up to the 2004 AFL season. “MCG” redirects here. ... Olympic Park is a sporting precinct located a few kilometres from the CBD of Melbourne, Australia. ... Lexus Centre, originally known as the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre and The Glass House, was an indoor sporting arena located in Melbourne, Australia. ...

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 predominantly 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. John Raymond Dyer senior (November 13, 1913 - August 23, 2003), always known as Jack Dyer, was one of the colossal figures of Australian rules football during two distinct careers, firstly as an outstanding player and coach of the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1931 and 1952...

A small Rec Footy competition has been run at the venue since 2004. Recreational Football. ...

This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Coordinates: 37°47′53.76″S, 144°59′47.09″E Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...