Bassendean Oval

Child Places

• 18088 Basssendean Oval Entrance Gate
• 18088 Basssendean Oval Entrance Gate
• 18090 MacDonald Grandstand
• 18090 MacDonald Grandstand
• 18089 Bassendean Oval Grandstand
• 18089 Bassendean Oval Grandstand

Statement of Significance

The following Statement of Significance has been based on the documentation prepared in 2003 for the State Heritage Office. Bassendean Oval, a grassed playing field, with two timber and masonry construction grandstands, three entry gates with the earliest built in 1929 in the Inter-War Stripped Classical Style, a mature eucalypt, and a white timber picket fence around the oval playing surface, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
• the Bill Walker and R.A. McDonald grandstands are rare as extant examples of timber construction grandstands. The McDonald Stand has a well-known reputation for the foot-stomping of Swan Districts Football Club fans, achievable due to its timber floors;
• the Bill Walker and R.A. McDonald timber construction grandstands, are elegant and graceful examples of the Inter War Utilitarian style. The exterior of the masonry construction entry gates is an attractive example of the Inter War Stripped Classical style;
• the place demonstrates the importance sport has played in local communities in Australia, and contributes to the local communities sense of place as a traditional venue for local and inter-school sports events, and as the home-ground of Western Australian Football League (WAFL) team the Swan Districts Football Club;
• situated on a corner and on the main road, the place is a landmark within the town of Bassendean, particularly the McDonald and Walker timber grandstands and the 1929 entrance gates, and the view into the place through the gates from Old Perth Road is a significant vista. Its trees and grass banks provide visual amenity to the town; and,
• the place is associated with prominent football identities, Richard A McDonald, the founder and inaugural President of the Swan Districts Football Club, and four-time Sandover Medallist Bill Walker, who won the medal in 1965, 1966 and 1967.

Physical Description

A very well maintained grass oval enclosed by a low white picket fence and surrounded by several covered grandstands as well as uncovered rows of seating. At either end of the oval is a set of football goalposts.

History

Bassendean Oval was officially opened in 1929 and consists of two timber grandstands (1932 & 1938), brick two-storey clubrooms (c1932 & 1972), main entrance gate at West Road (1929) and other entrance at Brook Street (1929 & 1970). In 1901, the West Guildford Road Board selected a reserve to be set aside for recreation. Originally, the land selected had been surveyed with the yet unsurfaced Perth-Guildford Road crossing through it. The Board approached the Government and agreed to deviating the road around the reserve. In 1901, Guildford Lot 196, Reserve 7401, was gazetted and initially set aside for “Government Requirements”, in 1902, the reserve was officially changed to “Recreation”. In 1922, the West Guildford Road Board voted to change its name from West Guildford to Bassendean.
In 1927, the first motions were made towards establishing a West Australian Football League (WAFL) football team at Bassendean, whose home-ground would be Bassendean Oval. In September 1927, plans were prepared by Herbert Horsfall, Civil Engineer, for the Bassendean Recreation Reserve. In September 1929, the works for upgrading the Recreation Reserve to become an oval for league football were implemented, and a contract was let for the clearing, grading and fencing of the grounds including the entrance gates.
On 7 December 1929, most of the works at the Recreation Reserve were completed, and Bassendean Oval was officially opened by the Hon. Philip Collier, giving the Bassendean football team a home ground and headquarters. The opening of Bassendean Oval coincided with the centenary celebrations for the foundation of the Swan River Colony. As with the rest of the State, Bassendean had felt the effects of the Great Depression years, with many of
the local industries being cut back and numbers of workers retrenched. However, in spite of these hard times, during the 1930s Bassendean experienced an accelerated round of building projects in the town. The Bassendean Hotel opened (1930), Grandstands and clubhouses were erected on the Recreation Reserve, a new fire station was built (also in Wilson Street), a Trades Hall was built in Broadway, the Bassendean Masonic Lodge was erected in 1934, in 1936 the new Road Board building was completed and opened,
and new shops opened up along the Perth Road. Having been built in the 1930s (and in the 1920s), Bassendean Oval is therefore part of this modest building boom and is important in demonstrating the effort made at a local level of trying to maintain some semblance of social cohesion and interaction during these hard times. On 3 February 1932, R. A. McDonald officially opened the three-storey timber and corrugated iron grandstand, (later to be called the Bill Walker Grandstand, (after the former player four-time Sandover Medallist and coach) with a seating capacity of 800. The grandstand cost £2,646. To celebrate the occasion, an A-grade cricket match was played between Mt Lawley and East Perth. In 1934, Bassendean (PSA) was finally accepted into the WAFL (which had been renamed the West Australian National Football League (WANFL) in 1931) and played their first season in this year as Swan Districts Football Club. During the Second World War, Bassendean Oval was utilised by the Department of the Army, using the McDonald Stand as their headquarters. Coming off the excitement of SDFC making its first finals in 1937, it was not long before a second grandstand was needed to cope with the increasing spectator numbers coming to the oval on football days to support their local team. The SDFC made a request to the Bassendean Road Board that a second be built, larger than the first. Architects, Powell, Cameron and Chisholm designed the stand which initially had a seating capacity of 1000.40 On 23 July 1938, the new timber construction grandstand was opened, named the McDonald stand after Richard A. McDonald, the former chairman of the Bassendean Road Board, founding
member of the West Guildford Masonic Lodge and inaugural President of the SDFC (1934 & 1937). In 1963, sand from local landmark, Success Hill, was being quarried for use at other sites through Bassendean, including Bassendean Oval. Bell Brothers were contracted by the Town of Bassendean to quarry sand from Success Hill, some of which was used to build up the banks at the oval. In 1957, the SDFC became the first WANFL club to be issued a liquor licence. The members-only clubroom was completed in time for the SDFC Christmas party on 20 December 1957. On 3 February 1980, a fire caused substantial damage to the McDonald stand, mostly to the underneath section where the bar, property and store rooms were located. The fire, which started in the western end of the stand, was reported to have been deliberately lit. Bassendean Oval has been upgraded and altered continually since the 1930s in response to the changing needs and requirements of players and the audience. While there have been concerts and events at the oval its primary function as a football oval and headquarters of Swan District Football Club has continued. The oval was included on the State Register of Heritage Places in 2003.

Integrity/Authenticity

High
Moderate

Condition

Fair

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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