Jubilee Oval (Adelaide)

The Jubilee Oval was a sporting ground created in 1895[2] between the Jubilee Exhibition Building and the River Torrens. It was located next to the railway station at the end of the Jubilee Exhibition Railway line, which operated from 1887 to 1927. It incorporated a (banked) cycle racing track, and a new grandstand and seating on the mound were built in 1896.[3]

Jubilee Oval
View of the former Jubilee Oval from an aeroplane (c. 1936)
LocationAdelaide, South Australia
Coordinates34°55′06″S 138°36′19″E
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1894
Opened1895
Demolished1945
Tenants
North Adelaide Football Club 1898-1901, 1904[1]
Norwood Football Club 1898-1900
West Adelaide Football Club (1898-1906)
South Adelaide Football Club (1904)

It was created, in part for the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society as a venue for the Royal Adelaide Show,[4] replacing their "Old Exhibition Grounds", which had been home to the Show for fifty years. The Autumn Show was held at the Jubilee Building in May 1895, with the horse events being held on the Oval.[5] In 1896 the first Live Stock Show was held at the new site.[6]

The first sporting contest held on the oval may have been the cricket "friendly" between two Government departments: the Land Titles Office and Treasury in February 1895, using a matting wicket.[7] The following month saw a match between two departments of the South Australian Register, though the condition of the ground was hardly conducive to an enjoyable game, a horse show having been held on the oval a week before.[8] The first race on the cycle track took place in July 1895, and was praised, but very few spectators were present.[9]

The first League football match held on the oval was Norwood v. West Adelaide on 7 May 1898.[10]

It also held the 1904 SAFA Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Norwood, with the latter winning the match. This is the only instance as of 2022 where the SANFL premiership was not decided at either Adelaide Oval or Football Park.

The oval was later deemed too small for league football, with the last game there being played on July 16, 1921, with South Adelaide defeating West Adelaide. [11]

On Saturday 6 October 1923, Australia played China in an association football match at Jubilee Oval in front of a crowd of approximately 9000 people, with the match finishing in a 2-all draw.[12]

The oval was demolished in 1945 to allow for new buildings for the University of Adelaide. [13]

  • An association football match being played at Jubilee Oval in 1915.
    An association football match being played at Jubilee Oval in 1915.
  • Women's Australian rules football. North vs South. September 21, 1918
    Women's Australian rules football. North vs South. September 21, 1918
  • Overlooking Jubilee Oval with the Barr Smith Library to the left (c. 1934)
    Overlooking Jubilee Oval with the Barr Smith Library to the left (c. 1934)

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jubilee Oval (Adelaide).
  1. Wood, John, 1944- Title The centenary history of the North Adelaide Football Club / by John Wood Dates/Publication Details [Prospect, S. Aust.] : North Adelaide Football Club, 1993
  2. "A Year's Public Works". South Australian Register. Vol. LX, no. 15, 021. South Australia. 4 January 1895. p. 6. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "The Public Buildings Department". Evening Journal (Adelaide). Vol. XXIX, no. 8159. South Australia. 6 January 1897. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. A colonial experience, 1838-1910 : a woman's story of life in Adelaide, the District of Kensington and Norwood together with reminiscences of colonial life / by Geoffrey H. Manning
  5. "The Autumn Show". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 1 March 1895. p. 7. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Kerr, Margaret and Colin Royal Show Stock Journal Publishers 1983 p.42 ISBN 0 9596833 1 3
  7. "Jubilee Exhibition Oval". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 4 February 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Register Literary Department v. Commercial Department". South Australian Register. Vol. LX, no. 15, 089. South Australia. 25 March 1895. p. 7. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Cycling - North Adelaide Club - A Small Race Meeting". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. XXXVIII, no. 11463. South Australia. 15 July 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Football". Evening Journal (Adelaide). Vol. XXX, no. 8559. South Australia. 30 April 1898. p. 7. Retrieved 16 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Jubilee Oval". SA Memory. State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  12. Behrent, Sue (2011). History of the Socceroos. Camberwell, Vic.: Penguin Books. p. 34. ISBN 9780670074266.
  13. Whimpress, Bernard (2015). Jubilee Oval 1895-1945. Kent Town, SA.: WHIM Press. ISBN 9781326421847.
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