VICTORIA PARK

LULIE STREET ABBOTSFORD, YARRA CITY

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Victorian Heritage Register

VICTORIA PARK SOHE 2008

Statement of Significance

• Other Records For This Place
  • Victoria Park - National Trust
• Additional Place Information

  • History

    VICTORIA PARK - History

    The land which became known as Victoria Park was originally part of Dight’s Paddock, an area of 86 acres named after John Dight who established a flour mill on the banks of the river in the 1840s. Dight’s Paddock was sold in 1878 to David Abbott and Frederick Trenerry Brown (or Edwin Trenerry?) who intended to subdivide and sell the allotments for housing. The Collingwood Council negotiated the acquisition of 10¼ acres of the land for a recreation reserve in return for spending £250 per acre towards making the surrounding streets. A covenant was placed on the land forbidding Council from selling the reserve to a private individual. Part of the reserve was set aside for use by the Yarra Yarra Cricket Club and later by the Capulet Cricket Club. The Britannia Football Club made the park its home from 1882 when the first game of football was played at Victoria Park. The Collingwood Cricket Club made the ground its home from 1906 to 1996. Important players included Keith Stackpole and Jack Ryder.

    Australian Rules Football evolved from a game first designed as a means of keeping cricketers fit through winter. The first game was played between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School on 7 August 1858. The rules for the Melbourne Football Club were drafted at the Parade Hotel on 17 May 1859 by T.H. Wills, W.J. Hammersley, H.C.A. Harrison and J.B. Thompson. The Victorian Football Association was formed in 1877 with five teams Albert Park (later South Melbourne), Carlton, Hotham, Melbourne and St Kilda, with Geelong joining a year later, followed by Essendon in 1882, Fitzroy, Footscray and Williamstown came next, as did Richmond, Collingwood and Port Melbourne. The major clubs broke away and formed the Victorian Football League in 1897 with the two leagues running their own competitions although the VFL became the pre-eminent league and turned professional in 1911.

    The Britannia Football Club broke up after it had been refused admission to the VFA. Collingwood Football Club was formed in 1892 with the first committee meeting held at Grace Darling Hotel in March 1892. Council undertook works at Victoria Park to meet standards necessary for the VFA. Collingwood was admitted as a member of the VFA and played its first game at Victoria Park against Carlton on 7 May 1892. Prominent architect and supporter William Pitt designed a grandstand which was demolished in the 1950s. Collingwood played its first VFL game at Victoria Park against Geelong in 1898. The last Collingwood game was played at Victoria Park in the final round of 1999.

    Collingwood made an important contribution to the game of football with Dick Condon introducing the stab pass and the short kick in 1902. By 1896-7 Collingwood boasted the largest number of supporters of any of the clubs. The club won four premierships in a row between 1927 and 1930, introduced the idea of pre-match games and was the first VFL club to obtain a liquor licence in 1941.

    A Ladies Stand was constructed in 1900, demolished in 1929 to make way for the Ryder Stand. Pitt’s 1892 grandstand was relocated in 1909 to make way for the Members Stand at the Lulie Street end of the ground designed by architect Thomas Watts. The 1909 stand was demolished in 1968 when the Sherrin stand was built.

    The Ryder Stand was built in 1929 with the help of local unemployed sustenance workers. Council raised the funds, using £1200 from the Government Relief Fund and a loan of £8000. The architects were Peck & Kemter, associated with the Melbourne office of Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin and collaboration on the Capitol Theatre project. The stand was named after Jack Ryder, the Collingwood cricketer who had played with the Australian team in the 1920s. The stand reflects developments in the evolution of the cantilevered grandstand without being innovative. The stand has an undercroft of concrete construction and comprises raked roof beams supporting a steel-framed skillion roof structure. A red brick wall with patterned brick panels is at the rear of the stand along Abbott Street.

    After an ongoing battle between the club and council on funding of maintenance and control of the ground, in 1956 the club was granted a forty year ground improvements lease, thus becoming one of the few VFL clubs with the control over development of its ground. A number of major works followed as a result of the club’s greater control over the ground.

    Collingwood was the first league team to form a social club and the first to obtain a liquor licence. The social club was formed in 1940 and clubrooms were originally under the Ryder Stand. The Social Club stand (S A Coventry Stand) was built in 1959 to a design by architects Robert McIntyre & Associates that allowed for the later addition of another storey at the fourth level. It was originally a three level steel framed concrete and brick building in a cuboid form with aluminium curtain wall cladding and external enamel (black and white) panelling. The additional storey was built in 1980-81. Some other alterations have been made including new windows to the office areas in 1974 and extending the members’ terraces in front of the stand in the 1970s. A large viewing area was added at the second level in 1989 and named the Bob Rose Stand.

    The R T Rush stand was built in 1966, named after Bob Rush, one of Collingwood’s longest serving players and officials and designed by McIntyre & McIntyre. It was a concrete cantilevered stand 700 feet long with steel girders and concrete terraces partly covered by the cantilevered roof. The stand, the only covered stand in the outer area, provided cover for up to 10,000 spectators and had kiosks installed in the concourse. It was among the first of the larger public stands built in metropolitan VFL grounds.

    The Sherrin Stand was built in 1968 to replace the 1909 Members Stand. It is the largest capacity stand at the ground. The architects were Peter McIntyre & Associates. The stand was to accommodate the visiting team, as well as umpires and police in the undercroft, 1800 member seats under cover with another 700 seats in the open area in front of the stand. The stand was extended by about a third in 1977-78 at its southern end providing 1000 additional seats and extra players’ and umpires’ rooms in the undercroft. Private boxes were added in the 1980s. The stand is a steel-framed concrete and brick single tier cantilevered structure with exposed steel roof decking, twelve structural bays, undercroft rooms and a curved plan form. The west elevation to Lulie Street cantilevers over the brick rear of the stand and has a pronounced arc form overhanging the street with black and white stripe painted metal cladding.

    The caretaker’s residence is located in the north east corner at the junction of Abbott Street and Trenerry Crescent. The 1960s double-fronted brick veneer house with a hipped and tiled roof replaced an earlier cottage built c.1930.

    There has been some form of fencing around the ground to control public access since the earliest stage of the club’s use of the site. In the 1920s (possibly using sustenance labour) a picket fence along Turner and Bath Streets was replaced by a reinforced concrete wall with panels of exposed aggregate between piers. The brick wall along Abbott Street with patterned brick panelling appears to be contemporary with the 1929 Ryder Stand. The Lulie Street brick wall was built in 1957. There are a number of entrances, exits, turnstiles and ticket boxes, including the entrance at Lulie and Turner Streets, 1957, the main entrance to the outer reserve from the Johnston Street approach.

    The oval was extended by 30 yards in 1891 and the surface levelled to meet VFA standards. The playing area was reconstructed in 1960-61 involving the resurfacing of the ground area. In 1983 the oval was extended at the eastern end requiring substantial works to the oval and the embankment area.

    The grassed embankment dates back to 1892 with the extent of open terracing being reduced when the Rush Stand was built in 1966. The highest part of the embankment at the Trenerry Crescent end is traditionally associated with Collingwood supporters and known as “One Eye Hill”.

    The scoreboard, a steel-framed structure on concrete footings with corrugated iron cladding to the sides, dates from 1966, paid for by Dunlop Rubber. It was extended in the 1980s.The time clock is a steel framed structure on concrete footings installed in 1966.

    In the 1980s the VFL launched into a long period of ground rationalisation which would end in many league clubs ceasing to play at their home grounds, although continue to train at their old grounds. The VFL wanted clubs to play at the three premier venues: the MCG, Waverley Park and Princes Park with their larger capacities. A Keep Collingwood at Victoria Park group was formed. In the late 1980s the club proposed a major upgrade of facilities and to buy the Social Club land which would involve removing the covenant on the land. A bitter battle was fought for 5 years between the club, the Council, state government, local resident groups and Collingwood supporters groups. Meanwhile the VFL continued to apply pressure and eventually won the right to transfer any match to the venue of its choice. Finally in 1993 the club itself capitulated to allow all big games to be played at the MCG. In the late 1990s the club signed a new lease with the City of Yarra allowing parts of the ground to be progressively returned to council management and responsibility after the club ceased to occupy the facilities. The last game between Collingwood and the Brisbane Bears was played at the ground in the last round of 1999. This was the last game played by any league team at a suburban venue in Melbourne (except for Princes Park, although that was considered a premier venue).

    Permit Exemptions

    VICTORIA PARK - Permit Exemptions

    General Exemptions:

    General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

    Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

    Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

    Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

    Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

    Specific Exemptions:

    General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.

    General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such works shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. Note: All archaeological places have the potential to contain significant sub-surface artefacts and other remains. In most cases it will be necessary to obtain approval from the Executive Director before the undertaking any works that have a significant sub-surface component.

    General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. Note: The existence of a Conservation Management Plan or a Heritage Action Plan endorsed by the Executive Director provides guidance for the management of the heritage values associated with the site. It may not be necessary to obtain a heritage permit for certain works specified in the management plan.

    General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this determination prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.

    General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this determination exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authorities where applicable.

    Minor Works : Note: Any Minor Works that in the opinion of the Executive Director will not adversely affect the heritage significance of the place may be exempt from the permit requirements of the Heritage Act. A person proposing to undertake minor works may submit a proposal to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director is satisfied that the proposed works will not adversely affect the heritage values of the site, the applicant may be exempted from the requirement to obtain a heritage permit. If an applicant is uncertain whether a heritage permit is required, it is recommended that the permits co-ordinator be contacted.

     

    
    

    Exterior

     

    All maintenance works to the oval to provide for quality turf and a safe playing surface.
     

    Signage which complies with the City of Yarra planning scheme.
     

    Repairs, replacement or installation of rubbish bins, seating, bicycle racks and other small items and street furniture.
    
    

    Buildings and Structures:

    
    

    Minor repairs and maintenance. 

     

    Painting of previously painted walls, posts, and roofing in the same colour. 
     

    Treatments to stabilise and protect timber, masonry and metal structures.
     

    Repair and/or replacement of seating
    
    

    Interiors of stands:

     

    All non-structural works.

     

    Non-registered buildings and structures
     

    All works, including demolition and internal modification, but not additions.
    
    

    Landscape:

     

    The process of gardening and maintenance, mowing, removal of dead plants, disease and weed control, emergency and safety works to care for existing plants.
    
    

    Removal of vegetation that is not significant to maintain fire safety and to conserve significant buildings and structures.
    
    

    Repairs, conservation and maintenance to hard landscape elements, ornaments, roads and paths, drainage and irrigation system.
     

    Management of trees in accordance with Australian Standard; Pruning of amenity trees AS4373.
    
    

    Removal of plants listed as noxious weeds in the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.
     

    Installation, removal or replacement of garden watering and drainage systems.
     

    Non-commercial signage, lighting, security fire safety and other safety requirements, provided no structural building occurs.
     

    Resurfacing of existing paths and driveways.

    Permit Exemption Policy

    VICTORIA PARK - Permit Exemption Policy

    The cultural heritage significance of Victoria Park is primarily due to its historical and social associations with the Collingwood Football Club. A number of key elements reflect these associations such as the oval, the stands, walls, the grassed embankment, entrances, and turnstiles. Victoria Park reflects the club's use of the ground for over a hundred years, in particular ground improvements undertaken from the late 1950s to the 1980s, although the Ryder Stand is an important reminder of the Depression era. It is acknowledged that future redevelopment and modification will be required to some of these buildings and structures, in particular to the Ryder Stand and the Social Club, the Rush Stand and the walls. The Ryder Stand has already undergone a number of modifications including a new roof in 1977. Removal and/or alteration of registered structures would be subject to permit applications. Intrepretation and documentation to the satisfaction of the Executive Director should occur prior to any removal or alteration. Subject to the precedence of this registration, the Conservation Management Plan completed by Allom Lovell & Associates in 2003 should be consulted as a guide to conserving and maintaining the significant fabric.
    
    

    While certain registered buildings and structures will require modification, retention of some elements is encouraged including the black and white panel treatment to the stands; the rear elevation of the Ryder Stand; the concrete terraces on the Rush Stand; sections of the perimeter walls including the concrete walls and the brick wall at the rear of the Sherrin Stand including the members' seasons ticket entrance with turnstile along Lulie Street (Gates 5, 6, 7 and 8); the Ryder Stand wall along Abbot Street; the angled form and prominence of the entrance to the outer from Lulie and Turner Streets; the grassed embankment area; and the large playing surface of the oval. Any permanent structures or buildings on the oval would be discouraged.
    
    

    The purpose of the permit exemptions is to allow works that do not affect the cultural heritage significance of Victoria Park. Alterations that impact on the significance of the place are subject to permit applications. All works to non-registered buildings and structures (including demolition and internal modification) are permit exempt, but any additions would require permits. Permits would be required for any new buildings, structures, landscape works, driveways and paths on the registered land. 
    
    
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