Hurstville Oval is a multi-use sporting ground, located in the suburb of Hurstville, in Sydney's southern suburbs. Since its opening, it has held various sports at the venue – including Cricket, Rugby League, Cycling and Football. The oval also has a velodrome in the grounds, between the field and the stands.
It was opened in 1911. On the official opening day, cricketer Warren Bradley brought the Australian Team to the ground to play the local St George team.
Sports Used
Cycling
The St George Cycling Club, originally known as Hurstville Bicycle Club, started competition at the oval in 1906 on grass. They later built a cinders track prior to the amalgamation of several small clubs into St. George Cycling Club in 1920. The club benefited from the membership of Dunc Gray, the Olympic champion, who also established his home and business just a kilometre away from the track.
St. George Cycling Club staged national titles at Hurstville in the 1950s and under the guidance of Charlie Manins as an administrator and legendary coach Joe Buckley, developed into a powerful and ultra-competitive club.
Since 1956, the club has had representation in every cycling team that has represented at Olympic or Commonwealth Games (28 in succession) and continues to develop outstanding talent on an annual basis. On some occasions 40 per cent of the national team were St. George members. The names have been great legends of Australian cycling including the late Dunc Gray, the late Warren Scarfe, Frank Brazier, Ian Chapman, Max Langshaw, Dick Paris, Gary Sutton, Kevin Nichols, Martin Vinnicombe, Shane Sutton, Brett Dutton, Graeme Brown, Steve Wooldridge, Julie Speight, Kathleen Shannon, Clayton Stevenson, Ben Kersten, Ian Christison, Ben Brooks, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Steve Griffiths, Kaarle McCulloch – all have stood on the podium at the Olympics, World Titles, or Commonwealth Games.
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- Local business