Was used as the St.George Dragons home ground in the Sydney Premiership from 1921 until 1949.
Clubs who have used this venue as a home ground are listed below:
Competitions this venue has been used in.
The Hurstville years: As an omen of things to come, St.George had problems securing an adequate home ground when they entered the Sydney first grade competition in 1921. As Hurstville Oval was unenclosed, the Saints only played 2 games in the St.George district in 1921. Ian Heads in March Of The Dragons wrote, 'Hurstville at that time was not an enclosed ground - despite persistent pressure on the Council. The original area of Hurstville Park (of seven acres) was bought from the McMahon Estate in the early years of the century, and vested in the council. The ground was fenced, planted and developed by cricket lovers over a period of several years - and in 1911 famous Australian left-hander Warren Bardsley brought an invitation X1 to Hurstville Oval to play the St.George district team, on the official opening day.
The Saints played their first game at Hurstville Oval on the 28th of May, 1921. A crowd of 10,000 witnessed a 19-16 St.George victory over University. Ian Heads wrote, 'The day reinforced the message that a top quality sports ground was needed for the district.' The fact that Hurstville was unenclosed hurt St.George financially. It wasn't until May, 1923 that Hurstville Council agreed to enclose Hurstville Oval. However as Ian Heads notes, '... the battle to secure a suitable home ground was not yet over.' Hurstville Council decided not to enclose the site due to the demands of local residents and in 1924 there were no games played in the St.George district. Saints made Arncliffe's Earl Park their headquarters from 1925-39. Earl park was sold to Cooks Caramels and they had to return to Hurstville Oval in 1940. Saints played at Hurstville from 1940-49 before moving to Kogarah Jubilee Oval in 1950. Saints won their first premiership in 1941 whilst based at Hurstville and their tenth and final year and Hurstville brought a second premiership in 1949. Hurstville Oval continues to be used by the St.George District Cricket Club.
Source: http://hurstvilleoval.homestead.com/index.html
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Hurstville Oval
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