Campus Infrastructure Services

Section 170 Register Report: 4726008: UNIVERSITY OVALS 1 & 2

Heritage Item ID:		4726008
Item Name:		UNIVERSITY OVALS 1 & 2
Street Number:
Street Name:		Western Avenue, The University of Sydney
Suburb / Nearest Town:		Sydney
State:		NSW
Post Code:		2006
Other / Former Names:		N/A
Group Item ID:		0
Group Name:		N/A
Year Construction Started:		1884
Year Construction Completed:		1890
National Theme:		Educating
Regional Theme:
Designer:		Unknown
Builder:		University (Yeoman Bedell supervised)
Local Theme:		Development of the University site at and beyond Grose Farm, Development of the Gothic Revival Style in Australia. Student facilities The University and the community
Custom Field One:		Oval No.1 & Oval No.2, DO1 & DO2
Custom Field Two:
Custom Field Three:
Statement Of Significance:		The No. 1 Oval occupies the first site within the University grounds to be specifically reserved for the use of a University sports team and has been in continuous use for sporting purposes since the 1860s. Work on the oval in the 1880s was part of the considerable improvements to the grounds made by the use of a relief labour scheme, established at the University at the request of the Chancellor, Sir William Manning.
Historical Notes:		In 1866 the Senate resolved that a part of the University grounds be reserved temporarily as a cricket ground following an application from the Sydney University Cricket Club which had been founded the previous year. The area chosen (now No. 1 Oval) was in a low lying part of the University grounds between Orphan School Creek and the water course which fed into it on the east side and which formed the northern boundary of the grounds of St Paul's College. In the period from 1884-1890 the cricket ground was properly formed as part of the improvements to the University grounds effected by relief works established for the unemployed. With a team of 60 men, working under the direction of the Yeoman Bedell, the ground was levelled, cut back, sloped banks built, drained and turfed. Spoil from excavations for the City Railway was used to infill the area around the Veterinary School, the oval and part of St John's College lands over a period of years from about 1916. The No. 2 Oval was built in 1930-1931 to the north-east of the existing oval. The present grandstand, the Bruce Williams Pavilion (D01), was constructed in two stages, opened in 1976 and 1978, following the destruction by fire of the earlier grandstand on 27 May 1975.
Physical Description:		The university ovals are grassed ovals. A drive (Western Avenue) forms the perimeter. A row of trees to the west of Oval No. 1 were planted prior to World War II.
Physical Condition:		Not assessed
Modification Dates:		1931-32 - Oval No. 2, 1976-78 - Grandstand.
Recommended Management:		Ensure that the impact on any proposal on the heritage significance of the buildings, and their setting, is assessed when planning new works. Further research to determine the cultural significance of the item is required.
Further Information:
Custom Field Four:
Custom Field Five:
Custom Field Six:


Local Government Area	DUAP Region	Historic Region
South Sydney City	Sydney South	Sydney


Historical Significance:		The No. 1 Oval occupies the first site within the University grounds to be specifically reserved for the use of a University sports team and has been in continuous use for sporting purposes since the 1860s, indicating the importance of sport in university life, which follows the Oxbridge tradition. Work on the oval in the 1880s was part of the considerable improvements to the grounds made by the use of a relief labour scheme, established at the University at the request of the Chancellor, Sir William Manning.
Aesthetic Significance:		An integral part of the University campus, this area has remained open space since the construction of the main quad, colleges and RPA Hospital
Social Significance:		For its continued use as sports ovals.
Technical Significance:		Limited, however the fill may have some archaeological potential.
Rare Assessment:		A representative example of a sports oval.
Representative Assessment:
Intact Assessment:		Substantially intact however further assessment is required to determine the extent of changes to the configuration.


State Theme Code
Sport


Author	Title	Reference Year
David Curtis	'The University of Sydney Grounds and Gardens. From Bushland to the Present Day' Typescript, University Archives R 387	1981
C Turney, U Bygott, P Chippendale	Australia's First : A history of the University of Sydney Volume 1 1850-1939	1991
	Report of the University of Sydney for the year ended 31 December 1975 & 31 December 1976 and The University of Sydney Annual Report 1978


Heritage List Name		Listing Name		Reference Number		Listing Date

Image Caption:		View of University Oval No 1, 2000
Image Copyright:
Image By:		DPWS Heritage Design Services
Image Date:
Image File:		oval101.jpg
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Image Caption:		View of University Oval No 1, 2000
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Image By:		DPWS Heritage Design Services
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Image File:		oval102.jpg
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Image Caption:		View of University Oval No 2, 2000
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Image By:		DPWS Heritage Design Services
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Image File:		oval201.jpg
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Image Caption:		View of University Oval No 2, 2000
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Image By:		DPWS Heritage Design Services
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Image File:		oval202.jpg
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Image Caption:		The University Grounds c.1870
Image Copyright:
Image By:		Fischer 1975: 39
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Image File:		OVA1.gif
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Image Caption:		Military Review, 1895. The Oval No. 1 is to the right.
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Image By:		Fischer 1975: 64
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Image File:		OVA2.gif
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Image Caption:		Wilkinson's Masterplan showing the oval.
Image Copyright:
Image By:		Cable, Turney, Bygott 1990:75
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Image File:		OVA3.gif
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Image Caption:		Men's athletics at the oval.
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Image File:		home_03657.gif
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Image Caption:		Aerial view (1945?) showing the ovals.
Image Copyright:
Image By:		Cable, Turney, Bygott 1990:106
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Image File:		OVA5.gif
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ABN: 15 211 513 464. CRICOS number: 00026A. Phone: +61 2 9351 2222.

Authorised by: Facilities Information Manager.

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Section 170 Register Report: 4726008: UNIVERSITY OVALS 1 & 2

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