Sydney Cricket Ground

Lore & Background

In 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie established the first Sydney Common. In 1851, part of the Common south of Victoria Barracks was granted to the British Army for use as a garden and cricket ground. The first user was the 11th North Devonshire Regiment. The ground became known as the Garrison Ground when it opened in February 1854. In the late 1860s, another part of the Common west of the Garrison Ground was opened as Moore Park. When Lieutenant-Colonel John Richardson aligned his soldiers to the East Sydney Cricket Club, the ground became known as the Civil and Military Ground. In 1875, the NSW Government began upgrading the ground. In 1876, the ground was dedicated by Governor Sir Hercules Robinson. The trustees renamed it the Association Ground. In 1894, the ground received its modern name, the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Reader's Guide

The SCG has undergone several developments. By the first Sydney cricket test in February 1882, the ground had two grandstands: the Brewongle Stand and the original Members' Stand. Two spectator mounds, The Hill and the Paddington Hill, were built. In 1886, the Members' Pavilion was rebuilt. In 1894, the Hill Stand opened. The first SCG scoreboard was built in the two weeks leading up to the 1895–1896 inter-colonial match between New South Wales and Victoria. In 1896, the Ladies' Stand and a concrete cycling track opened. In 1898, floodlights were built over the cycling track. In 1904, the scoreboard was rebuilt at the top of The Hill. In 1909, the Sheridan Stand opened. The cycling track was removed in 1920. In 1924, a concrete scoreboard opened at the back of the Hill. The M.A. Noble Stand opened in 1936, and the Bradman Stand was completed in 1973.

Did You Know?

• The ground was originally part of the Sydney Common, used as a rubbish dump in the 1850s.
• The scoreboard built for the 1895–1896 season required two men to operate and was hailed as one of the wonders of the cricket world.