Sydney Stadium

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The Burns-Johnson fight at the open-air Sydney Stadium in 1908

The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, New South Wales, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. The venue was built in 1908 on the site of a former Chinese market garden leased by boxing promoter Hugh Donald Macintosh.[1]

Macintosh originally built a temporary open-air stadium to promote a World heavyweight boxing championship title fight between Canadian world heavyweight champion Tommy Burns and Australian champion Bill "Boshter" Squires on 24 August 1908, which Burns won by a knockout in the 13th Round.[1] It also hosted the biggest sporting event in Australia's history up till then, where over 20,000 crammed in the stadium on 26 December 1908 to see Tommy Burns fight the African-American Jack Johnson. This fight captivated the world because it was the first time that a 'black' man fought for the prestigious World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, with Johnson winning to take the title.[2]

Dave Smith v Jerry Jerome at Sydney Stadium in April 1913

A hexagon-shaped permanent building with a roof was built some distance away from the temporary structure in 1911, with raked wooden seats facing towards the central stage. The venue seated between 10,000 and 12,000 people.[2] It colloquially became known by performers as "The Old Tin Shed" (from the mid-1960s). It was mainly used as a venue for boxing matches until the mid-1900s. From 1954 onwards it was frequently used to host concerts by visiting overseas performers—notably the groundbreaking "The Big Show" package tours promoted by expatriate American entrepreneur Lee Gordon—as it was the only large-capacity indoor venue in Sydney at that time. It was also notable as the venue for the Sydney concerts performed by The Beatles during their 1964 Australian tour.

The Sydney Stadium was demolished in 1970 to make way for the Eastern Suburbs Railway. Its former site is now marked by a commemorative plaque, which is on little Weigall at Sydney Grammar School Edgecliff Preparatory.

Exhibition

The Museum of Sydney held a major exhibition, The Wild Ones, about the Sydney Stadium. The exhibition started on 22 September 2012 and finished on the 10 March 2013. It looked at the origins of the Stadium as well as the fights, performers, wrestling, fans and Roller derby among other topics.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Woollahra Municipal Council - Local History Fast Facts - retrieved 29 April 2009
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Sydney Stadium". Milesago. Retrieved 7 November 2013. 

External links

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