Manuka Oval - History

History

The oval was originally a park officially known as Manuka Circle Park, however by the end of the 1920s it was known as Manuka Oval. The park and shopping centre were named after the leptospermum scoparium plant's Māori name, Manuka. There was a push for the park to become an enclosed oval starting in 1926 by various sports groups. Work began on Manuka Oval to erect a fence, along with other improvements made in 1929. The field had previously been used to casually play rugby league and Australian rules football. The first cricket pitch was played on in April 1930. The Bradman Pavilion, the oval's main stand, was constructed in 1962 in honour of Sir Donald Bradman. The Robert Menzies Stand and the Bob Hawke Stand were constructed in 1987 and 1992 respectively and were named after the first two Australian Prime Ministers who brought international cricket to Canberra in the form of the Prime Minister's XI. In 2004, Manuka Oval celebrated the 75th anniversary of its formal establishment. Manuka Oval will have a $4.3million upgrade starting from the second half of 2011, which includes 4,300 additional temporary seats for the venue, new media and corporate facilities, upgrades to the Hawke and Bradman stands' covering and upgrades to entry facilities, with upgrades of the ground's lighting to the to be considered in the future. On 16 October 2012, the ACT Government announced floodlights would be installed at the ground to allow night matches for both cricket and AFL.