Eels Blogs

February 15, 2017 1:15pm

While some were content to emulate their footy heroes on the ground others had mischief in mind. They trashed the dressing rooms, smashed the scoreboard and set fire to the grandstand.

Later bulldozers would move in and finish what the fans had started. It was the end of an era, one of the few remnants of the simple sports grounds of the 19th century was going under the wrecking ball and a modern stadium would rise in its place, although it was four years before the Eels would again play on their home ground.

Yesterday demolition began on that 1980s-era stadium to make way for a bigger and better sporting arena. Just as Parramatta has grown from its humble beginnings as a rural outpost of Sydney, so its main sports ground has gone from dusty paddock to multi-million dollar venue.

The land where the stadium stood was originally Burramattagul land, where the indigenous Burramatta people hunted and fished. But the natural amphitheatre known as the Crescent near Parramatta River was a place where clans from further west met with those from the east. It is possible that on the ground near where league games would later be held that indigenous people also competed against one another in friendly sporting contests.

In 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip surveyed the area and in 1791 established a military outpost and a town there. Originally known as Rosehill, it was eventually named Parramatta, an anglicised version of Burramatta. As the town grew there were numerous sporting venues established, but most were only temporary. A Cumberland Turf Club was formed early in 1825, holding its races on a stretch of land south of the river, but the club was disbanded in the 1830s.

Racing remained popular though and on Easter Monday in 1847 a horse race was held again south of the river. It was so successful that the Cumberland Turf Club was revived and gained permission from Governor Charles FitzRoy to use a portion of the Government Domain north of the river, previously used for grazing, to hold their next race.

This became the nucleus of a virtual sports and recreation quarter. Two sports ovals were created, one given over mainly to cricket and the other hosting rugby games from the 1870s, these facilities were used by local clubs and by the Kings School. Among the sporting highlights of the late 19th century were a rugby match between Parramatta and New Zealand in 1889, which the locals lost, and a cricket match between the Cumberland Cricket Club and the England Cricket team, captained by W.G. Grace, in 1891, Cumberland was beaten by twenty runs but a local man Joe Wilson got to bowl Grace for a duck.

The opening of Rosehill Racecourse in the 1880s saw the end of horse racing around the fields but cycling and later cars would race on circuits around the rugby field. In 1908 when teams split off from the Rugby Union to form the new Rugby League a Cumberland Rugby League Club was formed and applied for entry into the competition. The team was beaten by 18-4 by Eastern Suburbs in a trial game but were given a go during the 1908 season. Playing in blue and gold unfortunately they fared so dismally that they only lasted one season. None of their games were played at Parramatta, but Cumberland Oval, as it was known became the home ground for teams in the Western Districts league competition.

In 1946 the NSW Rugby League voted to allow a Parramatta side to enter the first grade Sydney competition. In their first game they were beaten 34 to 12 at their home ground. They would end the first season at the bottom of the ladder.

Over the years the team grew and in 1960 a Parramatta Leagues Club was built near the ground, then only a tiny brick building. By 1981, when the Eels won their first premiership, the Leagues club had become far more impressive but the ground was still stuck in the 19th century. Fans agitated for a better home ground, burning the old to the ground in 1981. The Eels made Belmore Oval their home ground while construction began on a new stadium.

In 1986 the new ground was finally ready and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.