Trumper Park Oval
Trumper Park Oval is a sporting oval in Paddington, New South Wales.
The oval is located at the corner of Glenmore Road & Hampden Street, Paddington and is named in honour of Victor Trumper. The oval has a long history of catering for Australian Football in the form of NSWFL foundation club, East Sydney, as well as catering for cricket and athletics. A series of walking trails connect surrounding streets.
Australian football has been played at this oval since at least 1903. To put this date of 1903 in perspective, Australian football was played on Trumper Oval five years prior to the establishment of the first rugby league competition in Australia and only one year after the establishment of the Hawthorn football club. All the Sydney FL grand finals (bar one) between 1952 and 1977 were played at this venue.
Some of the biggest names in Australian football history have played on this oval including Jack Dyer (Richmond vs NSW 1946), Keith Miller (Sydney Naval), Bill Morris (Richmond), Kevin Murray (Fitzroy/East Perth) and John Pitura (North Shore) amongst many others.[1]
History
Originally named Hampden Park Oval, the ground was built on a reclaimed swamp (Glenmore Brook runs down and under its middle), an old quarry and a garbage dump. It had to be built up by as much as 13 feet in some places in order to turn it into a cricket oval. It was named in honour of Viscount Hampden, Governor of New South Wales (1895–99) - Hampden Street alongside the park was originally named Ebenezer Street.
At the opening of the oval there was a great demonstration of community feeling - the owners of produce stores gave bags of potatoes, butchers in the district gave a sheep each, bakers gave bread and grocers gave jams and tea. A bullock was roasted whole and various games were held, including a fancy dress cricket match in which Trumper played.
The name of park, and the oval, was changed in 1931 to honour one of Paddington's cricketing heroes, Victor Trumper ( 1877-1915).
Current Sporting Teams
The oval is currently home to the following sporting groups;
- UTS Australian Football Club
- Eastern Suburbs Juniors
- Eastern Suburbs Little Athletics
- Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club
Stands
In its present configuration the Frank Dixon grandstand is a single, ground-level grandstand. The grandstand was reduced in size in the mid-1980s to reflect the current usage.
- Frank Dixon Stand - Built 1936 - General public admission.
External links
Coordinates: 33°52′52″S 151°14′05″E / 33.881016°S 151.234789°E