Boyer Oval
Encyclopedia
Boyer Oval is the home headquarters of the New Norfolk District Football Club
and the New Norfolk Cricket Club.
The ground is a former Tasmanian Football League
venue, being the host venue for New Norfolk
in TFL football from 1947 to 1999 and from 2000 it became a venue for SFL
football when New Norfolk were demoted from the Statewide League.
It is located on First Avenue and has a back entrance on Back River Road (behind the club's licenced clubrooms) at New Norfolk
, 38 kilometres north-west of the Hobart
CBD
.
Limited (ANM) in 1945 and was built with a large amount of technical input from experts from the Victorian Football League
(now Australian Football League
).
It was built for the people of New Norfolk and the Derwent Valley to the same playing surface size as the Melbourne Cricket Ground
and was intended to be used for Australian Rules football
, soccer, cricket
, cycling
and athletics with a view to expansion in future years when needed.
Boyer Oval also hosted boxing
events and community concerts for many years and was an extremely well utilised venue in its earlier years.
The ground was named after ANM Limited's Boyer Newsprint Mill, located at Boyer
, 6 km south of New Norfolk.
The main grandstand at the ground is the L.W.Hepper Stand, named after New Norfolk president Les Hepper (1909–2009) who presided over the Eagles from 1957–1974, and was built in the late 1950s and for many years had a fearsome reputation amongst Tasmanian football fans for the highly partisan supporters that used to pack the stand each match, it was also the scene of a vicious brawl between spectators that broke out during a Tasmanian Football League
match in 1988.
At the end of 1997, the Derwent Valley Council erected brand new changerooms to replace the former wooden ones (believed to have been wooden huts from a former Hydro village in the Central Highlands) which had stood behind the First Avenue end goals since the ground was opened.
New Norfolk played their first match at Boyer Oval in 1946 in the Southern District Football Association, prior to that they played at Lachlan Park in the grounds of the old Royal Derwent Hospital
complex.
The ground holds the distinction of having the second highest - 39.17 (251) by New Norfolk on 14 July 1983 - and fourth highest - 38.15 (243) by North Hobart on 5 August 1989 - scores kicked in TFL history on it.
In 1972, the New Norfolk District Football Club opened its own licenced clubrooms in the rear-carpark on Back River Road, approximately 200m behind the Queenstown end goal and the ANM Small-bore Rifle Club was also located in the carpark just outside the entrance gate but was burned down in an arson attack during the 1990s.
The final Tasmanian Football League
match to be staged at Boyer Oval was on Saturday, 21 August 1999 between New Norfolk (then known as Derwent Eagles) and North Launceston
(then known as Northern Bombers) resulting in an 81 point win to the Bombers.
The record crowd for a match at Boyer Oval is 4,710 recorded on 25 April 1964 between New Norfolk
and Clarence
.
Today, the ground is continuing to be used by the New Norfolk Football and Cricket clubs in their related competitions and has unfortunately been a magnet for vandalism in the town over the past several years and has fallen into a gradual state of disrepair.
New Norfolk Eagles
The New Norfolk District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Southern Football League, in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:Entry to Southern District Football Assoc* 1934Entry to TANFL/TFL* 1947...
and the New Norfolk Cricket Club.
The ground is a former Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
venue, being the host venue for New Norfolk
New Norfolk Eagles
The New Norfolk District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Southern Football League, in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:Entry to Southern District Football Assoc* 1934Entry to TANFL/TFL* 1947...
in TFL football from 1947 to 1999 and from 2000 it became a venue for SFL
Southern Football League (Tasmania)
The Southern Football League is an Australian rules football league which is based in Tasmania, Australia.- History :The Southern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1996 with the league's original clubs being those of the recently defunct Tasmanian Amateur Football League – Southern Division...
football when New Norfolk were demoted from the Statewide League.
It is located on First Avenue and has a back entrance on Back River Road (behind the club's licenced clubrooms) at New Norfolk
New Norfolk, Tasmania
-References:5. Fellowship of First Fleeters.6. New Norfolk's History and Achievements by Joe Cowburn and Rita Cox 1986-External links:* has extensive local information, history, photographs, resources and attractions...
, 38 kilometres north-west of the Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
CBD
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
History
Boyer Oval at New Norfolk was built by the former Australian Newsprint MillsAustralian Newsprint Mills
Australian Newsprint Mills Ltd. was formed in Hobart, Tasmania in 1938, and a newsprint mill, Australia's largest, built on the River Derwent at Boyer. An Albury, New South Wales mill was established in 1981. In 1997 Fletcher Challenge, a New Zealand company, took over Australian Newsprint Mills....
Limited (ANM) in 1945 and was built with a large amount of technical input from experts from the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(now Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
).
It was built for the people of New Norfolk and the Derwent Valley to the same playing surface size as the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
and was intended to be used for Australian Rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, soccer, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
and athletics with a view to expansion in future years when needed.
Boyer Oval also hosted boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
events and community concerts for many years and was an extremely well utilised venue in its earlier years.
The ground was named after ANM Limited's Boyer Newsprint Mill, located at Boyer
Boyer, Tasmania
Boyer is a town on the eastern side of the Derwent River , opposite and slightly downstream of New Norfolk. It is named after a family who first settled in the area in the early 19th century. It is the site of Australian Newsprint Mills' plant in Tasmania...
, 6 km south of New Norfolk.
The main grandstand at the ground is the L.W.Hepper Stand, named after New Norfolk president Les Hepper (1909–2009) who presided over the Eagles from 1957–1974, and was built in the late 1950s and for many years had a fearsome reputation amongst Tasmanian football fans for the highly partisan supporters that used to pack the stand each match, it was also the scene of a vicious brawl between spectators that broke out during a Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
match in 1988.
At the end of 1997, the Derwent Valley Council erected brand new changerooms to replace the former wooden ones (believed to have been wooden huts from a former Hydro village in the Central Highlands) which had stood behind the First Avenue end goals since the ground was opened.
New Norfolk played their first match at Boyer Oval in 1946 in the Southern District Football Association, prior to that they played at Lachlan Park in the grounds of the old Royal Derwent Hospital
Royal Derwent Hospital
The Royal Derwent Hospital, was built to house mentally ill and mentally handicapped persons in 1827, soon after the separation of Van Diemens Land from New South Wales...
complex.
The ground holds the distinction of having the second highest - 39.17 (251) by New Norfolk on 14 July 1983 - and fourth highest - 38.15 (243) by North Hobart on 5 August 1989 - scores kicked in TFL history on it.
In 1972, the New Norfolk District Football Club opened its own licenced clubrooms in the rear-carpark on Back River Road, approximately 200m behind the Queenstown end goal and the ANM Small-bore Rifle Club was also located in the carpark just outside the entrance gate but was burned down in an arson attack during the 1990s.
The final Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
match to be staged at Boyer Oval was on Saturday, 21 August 1999 between New Norfolk (then known as Derwent Eagles) and North Launceston
North Launceston Football Club
The North Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania. Australia. Since 2009 they have played in the newly formed Tasmanian State League.-History:...
(then known as Northern Bombers) resulting in an 81 point win to the Bombers.
The record crowd for a match at Boyer Oval is 4,710 recorded on 25 April 1964 between New Norfolk
New Norfolk Eagles
The New Norfolk District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Southern Football League, in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:Entry to Southern District Football Assoc* 1934Entry to TANFL/TFL* 1947...
and Clarence
Clarence Football Club
The Clarence Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos , is an Australian rules football club playing in the Tasmanian State League, based in Bellerive, Tasmania.Before 1903, they existed as Bellerive Football Club....
.
Today, the ground is continuing to be used by the New Norfolk Football and Cricket clubs in their related competitions and has unfortunately been a magnet for vandalism in the town over the past several years and has fallen into a gradual state of disrepair.