Deakin Reserve

Deakin Reserve is the main sports venue in the Goulburn Valley and is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football sports oval in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.

History

This sports venue was originally known as the cricket reserve in its very early years, then later known as the Shepparton Recreation Reserve, prior to being officially named the Deakin Reserve in 1947, in honour of former Victorian Water Supply Minister, former Federal politician and Australian Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin who was largely responsible for implementing the Goulburn Valley Irrigation Scheme.

In April 1875 a public meeting was called for in Shepparton for the purpose of appointing Trustees for the Shepparton Park and Recreation Grounds.

The first published mention of the cricket ground was in 1875, when the Shepparton Eleven had arranged a match against the Euroa Eleven and the Shepparton team "were practising hard on their local ground in the township".

Local Australian Rules Football teams, Shepparton and Shepparton Ramblers Football Club both used the Recreation Reserve as their home ground in the early 1890s.

In 1888, the Shepparton Cricket Club advertised for tenders for the erection of a sawn timber fence around the Shepparton Cricket and Recreation Reserve.

In March 1899 a local committee was formed of the Shepparton Athletics Carnival, with Dr. E. Ken Herring as the chairman of the organising committee, featuring athletics and bicycling events, with the first carnival at the Shepparton Showgrounds in April 1899, but was later moved to Shepparton Recreation Reserve.

In 1904, the Shepparton Shire Council approved and funded the erection of the first sports Pavilion on the Shepparton Recreation Reserve.

The original grandstand at the Reserve was erected in 1905 and the local Shepparton Athletics Carnival contributed financially to its erection.

The eighth annual Shepparton Athletics Carnival was held at the Shepparton Recreation Reserve for the first time in 1906, with £325 in prize money offered.

Construction of the Deakin Reserve Memorial Column and the installation of ornamental lights on the King George VI Memorial Gates, as well as bronze plaques was completed in December 1952. These gates and plaques were officially opened by Victorian Premier, John McDonald and Mrs Herbert Brookes, daughter of former Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin.

When Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Shepparton in 1954, an estimated 40,000 packed Deakin Reserve and the nearby streets for the Royal Reception.

The first recorded international cricket match held on the ground came in 1962 when an Victoria Country Eleven side played the Marylebone Cricket Club, when the English cricket team in Australia in 1962–63

A Youth Test match was held in December 1986 when Australia Under-19s played Indian Under-19s.

A Youth One Day International was later held there in November 1997 when Australia Under-19s played Pakistan Under-19s.

A List A match was held there in the 2006–07 Ford Ranger Cup between Victoria and Western Australia.

Australian Rules Football and netball are also played at the ground.

Since 1957, the Goulburn Valley Football League grand final has been played at the Deakin Reserve.

Deakin Reserve has hosted a number of VFL / AFL practices matches over the years, with the last of these being in March 2019 between Melbourne and Richmond.

Shepparton Sports Carnival

The honour board below acknowledges former office bearers and winners of the Sheffield Handicap, later renamed the Shepparton Gift and the Shepparton Wheelrace, which was held at the Shepparton Recreation Reserve (Deakin Reserve) from 1906 onwards.

The Sheffield Handicap was run over 130 yards, while the main wheelrace distance was over two miles. The very first two-mile race in 1899 was a dead heat.

The Shepparton Wheelrace was later raced over one mile.

In fact, the very first sports carnival held in Shepparton was back in 1879 on the site of the Shepparton Railway Station, just a year before the railway line was opened.

Over the many years of the carnival, the following sports took part, athletics, amateur and professional cycling, wood chopping, boxing, speed coursing (greyhound racing), fire brigade events, national dancing, fireworks, novelty attractions and a large betting ring.

In 1904, Shepparton cyclist, A J "Jackie" Clark won the famous Austral Wheel Race, then in 1905 he won the Shepparton Wheelrace and Adelaide Wheelrace, before heading over to Europe and America, to continue his riding career and set many world records along the way. Clark went onto win the Six Days of New York event in 1909 and 1911 and the Six Days of Berlin in 1913, just to name a few.

Prior to 1923, the annual carnival was held in February each year, then from 1923, the carnival was held on Foundation Day, one of the precursors of Australia Day, which was the last weekend in January.

By around 1930, the Shepparton Carnival was widely recognised as the premier sports carnival in northern Victoria by both athletes and patrons.

In September, 1933, the Sports Carnival committee decided to suspend its annual carnival, due to be held in January, 1934, due to a financial loss at the previous three carnivals, but after much public support the committee decided to go ahead with a carnival in January, 1934.

At the carnival's annual general meeting in November, 1934 the carnival went into recess, after the fourth annual loss in a row, which wiped out the carnival's bank account reserves, due indirectly to the Great Depression which meant that there was no carnival in 1935 and 1936.

Then in July, 1936 an organising committee was reformed and the next carnival went ahead on the 1st January, 1937.

International renown cyclists, Nino Borsari and Syd Cozens both rode at the 1937 Shepparton Carnival.

In an organised carnival boxing bout, 23 year old Percival Pettit died in the Mooroopna Hospital after being knocked out in a fight on the 1st January, 1938 at the sports carnival at the Shepparton Recreation Reserve.

One of the biggest ever crowds at Deakin Reserve was at the 1948 Shepparton Athletics Carnival, where an estimated 10,000 patrons paid a record £920 on New Year's Day.

In 1951, Danish cyclist, Carl Jorgan Koblauch crashed heavily after winning the fifth heat of the Aces Half Mile Derby on New Year's Day at the Shepparton Sports Carnival and was pronounced dead at the Mooroopna Hospital.

At the 1953 night session of the Shepparton Carnival, an estimated 15,000 spectators were present to watch crowd favourite and world champion cyclist, Sid Patterson.

In 1953, Geelong cyclist, Rex Kelly, 22 years of age, died in hospital, after crashing head first into an electric light pole in the third heat of the City Sprint at 3.16 pm, at the New Year's Day Sports Carnival at Deakin Reserve, after a fellow competitor punctured in front of him.

In 1958, local runner, Lance Watters won the Shepparton Gift and who had also just started up the business, Watters Electrical in Shepparton.

;Life Members
*19?? - John Stubbs
*1931 - W R Banner
*1951 - L J Michel

References

{{reflist

External links

Deakin Reserve
at ESPNcricinfo
Deakin Reserve
at CricketArchive
Deakin Reserve
at AusStadiums
1907 - Shepparton Sports Carnival - action photos1913 - Shepparton Gift winner: Wally Hartley action photo1914 - Rochester Brass Band - Group photo1919 - Shepparton Gift winner: Jim McNeil photo1931 - Shepparton Gift winner: Mick Maroney photo1934 - Shepparton Sports Carnival - action photos1936 - Tandem Bike Riders: Misses Valda Unthank and Peggy Saker1939 - Shepparton Sports Carnival: Newspaper preview & photos1949 - Shepparton Sports Carnival - action photos1949 - Shepparton Sports Carnival - Committee photo1949 - World Champion Cyclist: Sid Patterson photo1954 - King George VI Memorial Gates photo, Deakin Reserve1954 - Queen Elizabeth photo at Deakin Reserve1954 - Duke of Edinburgh / Princee Phillip photo at Deakin Reserve1957 - Goulburn Valley FL Grand Final photo2019 - JLT / AFL Richmond v Melbourne action photos

Cricket grounds in Victoria (state)
Australian rules football grounds
1875 establishments in Australia
Sports venues completed in 1875
Shepparton