Chatswood Oval is located south of the

Chatswood railway station Chatswood railway station is a rapid transit and suburban railway station located in the City of Willoughby suburb of Chatswood. It is served by Sydney Trains services; the T1 North Shore & Western Line and the T9 Northern Line, and Sydney ...

in northern Sydney. It has four small pavilions and seating surrounding the oval. It is one of the

Lower North Shore In Australia, Lower North Shore refers to the affluent northern suburbs of Sydney adjoining Sydney Harbour. The three bodies of water that surround the Lower North Shore are Lane Cove River on its western border, Sydney Harbour on its south side, ...

's largest sportsgrounds, and the home ground of the Gordon Rugby Football Club and Gordon District Cricket Club. One of the largest crowds was 8,127 when Gordon Rugby played

Randwick Randwick is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government ar ...

in 1976. Gordon Rugby have been playing at Chatswood Oval since 1936. The approximate dimensions of the oval are 145 metres by 112 metres.

History

In 1898, the local council approved for five acres of land south of the railway station to be made a public park. This area was formerly a Chinese market garden with a large well in the centre. The oval was opened in 1900. In the season 1906–07 The Gordon District Cricket Club took up residence, previously known as the Willoughby District Cricket Club. The heyday of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for Chatswood Oval was up to the 1930s. Of note was

Don Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane ...

's 201 runs scored at Chatswood Oval in April 1932, including 28 fours and two sixes in 171 minutes. Also, the local resident

Charlie Macartney Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flam ...

who hit a cricket ball over the train line, disrupting a game of

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

. Macartney was affectionately known by Chatswood residents as "our Governor General". His friend, another local resident

Victor Trumper Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...

played here, and was a crowd favourite. The Trumper Pavilion was named in his honour.

Bert Oldfield William Albert Stanley Oldfield (9 September 1894 – 10 August 1976) was an Australian cricketer and businessman. He played for New South Wales and Australia as a wicket-keeper. Oldfield's 52 stumpings during his Test career remains a record ...

played regularly at Chatswood Oval. Macartney, Trumper and Oldfield were all

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

. A few first grade

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

games were played at Chatswood Oval in the 1930s. Featuring

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

playing Souths, Easts and Balmain. In the early 1900s trees were planted around the oval. Many survive to the 21st century, including fine examples of

Hoop Pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of ''Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist a ...

and

Bunya Pine ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine (), banya or bunya-bunya, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae which is Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural range is southeast Queensland with two ver ...

. Chatswood Oval has also hosted first grade rugby league matches in the past. Between 1933 and 1936, The

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in Cammeray on Sydney's North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The club currently competes in the NSW Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL s ...

moved home games to the ground. On 2 April 2017, Chatswood Oval hosted its first rugby league match in 81 years as North Sydney Bears moved their home game to the venue to play The

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

in The

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

.Chatswood Oval
rugbyleagueproject.org

Pavilions

It soon became clear that the original 1903 grandstand was too small. And in 1913 plans were made to replace it. This occurred in 1924 with the construction of the Trumper Pavilion, which seats 250 spectators. The Cedric Pike stand (1963), holding 315 spectators was named after a local Rugby figure, who died as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in Malaya in 1943. The Paul Harrison Pavilion (1980) is named after a local supporter of sport. And the Jack Donnelly Stand (1980) is named after a former mayor and athlete.Nancy Booker and Ida Bennett (1988). ''The West Ward of Willoughby''. Municipality of Willoughby West Ward. p. 38.

Famous cricketers associated with Chatswood Oval

File:CharlieMac.jpg, "Our Governor General", Chatswood resident

File:Victor Trumper c1905.jpg, Chatswood resident and cricket ''immortal'',

File:Donald Bradman Sam Hood 1932.tif,

, who scored 201 at Chatswood Oval File:CrackerOldfield.jpg,

, wicketkeeper for Gordon District Cricket Club

References

{{NRL Grounds Cricket grounds in New South Wales 1900 establishments in Australia Sports venues in Sydney Sports venues completed in 1900 Soccer venues in Sydney Rugby union stadiums in Australia Rugby league stadiums in Australia Chatswood, New South Wales Cricket in Sydney Rugby league in Sydney Rugby union in New South Wales North Shore (Sydney)