Broken Hill’s Jubilee Oval awarded Heritage site #4
WA club Claremont drew a large crowd which packed the new grandstand at Jubilee Oval, 1939
By Peter Clark
The home of Australian Football in Broken Hill, Jubilee Oval, has become the fourth ground in New South Wales to be registered as an historical football site by the NSW Australian Football History Society*.
The Society has established a Heritage Register of significant historical sites for football in the state. A plaque is provided to each ground’s football administrative body for erection in a suitable place at the venue. The other heritage sites are: the Sydney Cricket Ground (awarded in 2021), Wagga’s Robertson Oval (2022) and Trumper Park in Paddington (2023).
The Heritage Plaque will be presented to AFL Broken Hill chairman Andrew Schmidt on Saturday 14th June during the game between Norths and Centrals at Jubilee Oval. Vice-President Rod Gillett will make the presentation on behalf of the Society.
Jubilee Oval has been a big part of the Broken Hill sporting scene since the late 19th Century. Over the course of its existence the venue has had many uses, including: mechanical hare racing, midget speedway car racing, motorcycle racing, cricket, Australian Football, rugby league, lacrosse, cycling, Caledonian sports and gymkhanas, among others.
It has seen some big names including the greatest players in cricket and Australian Football, namely Sir Donald Bradman and Haydn Bunton Snr.
Bradman played his first cricket match for New South Wales in December 1927 at Jubilee Oval. ‘The Don’ later recounted details of the ground conditions.
“There was not a blade of grass on that oval from one end to the other; the soil was a deep red with, in some parts, dust a couple of inches deep, a concrete wicket, and – I have never seen this anywhere else.” (Barrier Miner, 9 December 1930)
Triple Brownlow and triple Sandover medallist, the great Hadyn Bunton Snr. was a member of the combined Port Adelaide-Torrens team that played Broken Hill at Jubilee Oval in 1945. Bob Hank (West Torrens) and Bob Quinn (Port Adelaide) were other South Australian stars to play in that match.
The Barrier Miner (2 August 1945) reported that, “Bunton, although past his prime, gave spectators an indication of the play that made him such an outstanding footballer. He showed that he still has football brains, his handball being timed to perfection. Many of the visitors’ moves came from this player.”
In addition to being the home ground of both the North Broken Hill and West Broken Hill football clubs, and a venue for Barrier Range Football Association/Broken Hill Football League matches, Jubilee Oval has hosted many games between local teams and teams from interstate (Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia). It has also hosted interleague representative matches and visits by combined Sydney teams.
