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Carlaw Park
Stadium in New Zealand
Stadium in New Zealand
Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 1930s, though this fell to around 17,000 by the time the ground was closed in 2002. It is now the site of several offices and the University of Auckland's largest student accommodation Carlaw Park Student Village.
History
The stadium's grandstands and terraces were built in 1916, and it became the home of rugby league in Auckland from 1921. It was named after James Carlaw, the chairman of the Auckland Rugby League managing committee who secured the land in 1920 and developed the ground further.
The ground was officially opened on 25 June 1921 and City Rovers defeated Maritime 10–8 on the opening day in front of 7,000 fans. Herb Lunn scored the first try and Eric Grey kicked the first goal on the ground.[[File:Opening of the new stand, Carlaw Park 1934.png|thumb|Lord Bledisloe meeting the Ponsonby players before their match with Richmond on the day the new grandstand was opened on May 12, 1934.]]
The ground hosted the sole test match in the New Zealand leg of the 1951 French rugby league tour of Australasia.
The Auckland Rugby League spent £4,322 on capital expenditure in developing the ground. The ground was purchased for $200,000 in 1974.
The ground hosted 3 Winfield Cup games (one in 1992 the two other games were held in 1993) with the first game between Newcastle and Manly Warringah attracting 17,368 spectators. Strong attendances across these matches led to the inclusion of the Auckland Warriors into the Winfield Cup in 1995.
During its long history it hosted many matches in various Rugby League World Cups. The stadium capacity was officially listed as 17,000 when it closed in 2002 due to health and safety reasons. Between 1924 and 1999 Carlaw Park hosted sixty-six Test matches. The largest Test crowd was an estimated 28,000 during the 1928 England tour. New Zealand won the game, defeating England 17–13. The final rugby league test at the ground came on 22 October 1999 when New Zealand defeated Tonga 74–0 in front of the ground's lowest ever test crowd of 4,528.
Later years
In August 2006 the Auckland Rugby League reached an agreement to lease the property off to be developed as a retirement home. No development has started as of August 2007. However the site has been officially 'handed over' in August 2007 in a ceremony involving Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Carlaw Park was one of the venues under consideration for Stadium New Zealand, a proposed stadium to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Complications over the lease of the property, the requirement for additional land to be taken from Auckland Domain, and the proximity of the heavy traffic on Stanley Street led to other options being preferred by the Government. The backers of Carlaw Park hosting the Cup secured NZ$200 million for its possible development, but the government finally chose Eden Park to host the World Cup games.
Carlaw Park is now the site of several offices, a Quest Apartments hotel building, and the University of Auckland's largest student accommodation Carlaw Park Student Village. Since mid-November 2018, Carlaw Park has been connected by a walkway to the Parnell railway station.
Rugby league test matches
List of rugby league test matches played at Carlaw Park.
| Test# | Date | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 August 1924 | def. 16-8 | 22,000 |
| 2 | 4 August 1928 | def. 17-13 | 28,000 |
| 3 | 30 July 1932 | def. 24-9 | 25,000 |
| 4 | 20 August 1932 | def. 20-18 | 6,500 |
| 5 | 28 September 1935 | def. 22-14 | 20,000 |
| 6 | 2 October 1935 | def. 29-8 | 8,000 |
| 7 | 4 October 1935 | def. 31-8 | 20,000 |
| 8 | 8 August 1936 | def. 10-8 | 25,000 |
| 9 | 15 August 1936 | def. 23-11 | 17,000 |
| 10 | 7 August 1937 | def. 12-8 | 12,000 |
| 11 | 14 August 1937 | def. 16-15 | 25,000 |
| 12 | 10 August 1946 | def. 13-8 | 11,000 |
| 13 | 8 October 1949 | def. 13-10 | 12,361 |
| 14 | 12 August 1950 | def. 20-13 | 20,000 |
| 15 | 4 August 1951 | def. 16-15 | 19,229 |
| 16 | 18 July 1953 | def. 18-16 | 16,033 |
| 17 | 24 July 1954 | def. 27-7 | 22,097 |
| 18 | 14 August 1954 | def. 12-6 | 6,186 |
| 19 | 6 August 1955 | def. 19-9 | 20,500 |
| 20 | 13 August 1955 | def. 11-6 | 12,000 |
| 21 | 26 July 1958 | def. 15-10 | 25,000 |
| 22 | 9 August 1958 | def. 32-15 | 25,000 |
| 23 | 23 July 1960 | def. 9-2 | 17,914 |
| 24 | 6 August 1960 | def. 9-3 | 14,007 |
| 25 | 1 July 1961 | def. 12-10 | 11,485 |
| 26 | 8 July 1961 | def. 10-8 | 12,424 |
| 27 | 23 July 1962 | def. 19-0 | 14,976 |
| 28 | 10 August 1962 | def. 4-3 | |
| 29 | 11 August 1962 | def. 27-8 | 16,411 |
| 30 | 25 July 1964 | def. 24-16 | 10,148 |
| 31 | 15 August 1964 | def. 10-2 | 7,279 |
| 32 | 19 June 1965 | def. 13-8 | 13,205 |
| 33 | 26 June 1965 | def. 7-5 | 11,383 |
| 34 | 6 August 1966 | def. 25-8 | 14,494 |
| 35 | 20 August 1966 | def. 22-14 | 10,657 |
| 36 | 1 June 1969 | def. 20-10 | 13,459 |
| 37 | 7 June 1969 | def. 18-14 | 9,848 |
| 38 | 11 July 1970 | def. 19-15 | 15,948 |
| 39 | 25 July 1970 | def. 33-16 | 13,137 |
| 40 | 26 June 1971 | def. 24-3 | 13,917 |
| 41 | 27 July 1974 | def. 13-8 | 10,466 |
| 42 | 10 August 1974 | def. 20-0 | 11,574 |
| 43 | 21 July 1979 | def. 16-8 | 9,000 |
| 44 | 11 August 1979 | def. 18-11 | 7,000 |
| 45 | 1 June 1980 | def. 27-6 | 12,321 |
| 46 | 15 June 1980 | def. 15-6 | 9,706 |
| 47 | 7 June 1981 | def. 26-3 | 12,200 |
| 48 | 21 June 1981 | def. 25-2 | 8,100 |
| 49 | 12 June 1983 | def. 16-4 | 18,000 |
| 50 | 2 October 1983 | def. 60-20 | 7,000 |
| 51 | 14 July 1984 | def. 12-0 | 10,238 |
| 52 | 28 July 1984 | def. 32-16 | 7,967 |
| 53 | 30 June 1985 | def. 10-6 | 19,132 |
| 54 | 7 July 1985 | def. 18-0 | 15,327 |
| 55 | 6 July 1986 | def. 22-8 | 14,566 |
| 56 | 13 June 1991 | def. 60-6 | 7,000 |
| 57 | 22 October 1999 | def. 74-0 | 4,528 |
Rugby League World Cup
List of Rugby League World Cup matches played at Carlaw Park. Results are from the 1968, 1975, 1977 and 1985–1988 World Cups.
| WC Game# | Date | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 May 1968 | def. 15-10 | 18,000 |
| 2 | 2 June 1968 | def. 7-2 | 15,760 |
| 3 | 21 June 1975 | drew with 17-17 | 12,000 |
| 4 | 21 June 1975 | def. 13-8 | 9,368 |
| 5 | 27 September 1975 | def. 24-8 | 18,000 |
| 6 | 29 May 1977 | def. 27-12 | 18,000 |
| 7 | 5 June 1977 | def. 23-4 | 10,000 |
| 8 | 19 June 1977 | def. 28-20 | 8,000 |
| 9 | 10 July 1988 | def. 66-14 | 8,392 |
References
References
- Jessup, Peter. (29 June 2002). "Carlaw Park chapter closes". APN Holdings NZ Limited.
- Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. {{ISBN. 978-1-86969-366-4, p.p.62-63
- "NSWRL 1992 - Round Four".
- (Spring 2024). "A league of their own". [[Heritage New Zealand]].
- (4 February 2007). "Carlaw Park for Cup final?". [[New Zealand Herald]].
- (5 November 2006). "Carlaw Park pitched as World Cup venue". [[New Zealand Herald]].
- (13 November 2006). "Stadium decision: Mallard dismisses Carlaw Park proposal". [[New Zealand Herald]].
- (4 February 2007). "$200m cash injection for Carlaw Park as World Cup host". [[New Zealand Herald]].
- (22 September 2018). "Last piece in the 'Carlaw Park puzzle'". [[New Zealand Herald]].
- "Auckland Service Apartments". Quest Apartments Hotels.
- "Carlaw Park Student Village". [[University of Auckland]].
- "New pathway connection to Parnell Station now open". [[Auckland Council]].
- [https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/venues/carlaw-park/results.html Carlaw Park] ''rugbyleagueproject.org''
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