The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, New South Wales, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay

Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales

Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rushcutters Bay is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney....

. The venue was built in 1908 on the site of a former Chinese market garden

Market garden

A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...

 leased by boxing promoter Hugh Donald Macintosh

Hugh D. McIntosh

Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh was an Australian show-business entrepreneur born to parents of Scottish and Irish origin and modest means in Sydney's Surry Hills, then a ramshackle suburb with a reputation for crime and vice among the largely Irish immigrant population. His policeman father Hugh...

 and the building was originally unroofed.

Macintosh built the Stadium to promote a world title fight between Tommy Burns

Tommy Burns (boxer)

Tommy Burns , born Noah Brusso, is the only Canadian born world heavyweight champion boxer. The first to travel the globe in defending his title, Tommy made 11 title defenses despite often being the underdog due to his size. Burns famously challenged all comers as Heavyweight Champion, leading to...

 and Bill Squires

Bill Squires

William Squires is an American Track & Field Coach. He is well known for coaching the Greater Boston Track club at the height of its marathon success, including marathoner Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and Greg Meyer. He was notable for designing a Heartbreak Hill simulator for...

 on 24 August 1908, which Burns won by a knockout in the 13th Round. It also hosted 'The Fight of the Century' where over 20,000 crammed in the stadium to see Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson (boxer)

John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...

 become the first black world champion.

The Stadium had a seating capacity of approximately 10,000. Colloquially known as "The Old Tin Shed", it was mainly used as a venue for boxing matches until the mid-1900s. From the mid-1950s onwards it was frequently used to host concerts by visiting overseas performers—notably the groundbreaking "Big Show" package tours promoted by expatriate American entrepreneur Lee Gordon

Lee Gordon

For the rock and roll promoter see Lee Gordon Lee "Stubby" Gordon was a jazz musician and the Cleveland bandsman who conducted the Rhythm Masters orchestra and wrote the music for songs such as "Tell Me Dreamy Eyes" , "Worryin' Blues" , and "Rippin' It Off." He was the first to broadcast...

 -- as it was the only large-capacity indoor venue in Sydney at that time. It was also notable as the venue for the Sydney concerts performed by The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 during their 1964 Australian tour.

The Sydney Stadium was demolished in 1973 to make way for the Eastern Suburbs Railway. Its former site is now marked by a commemorative plaque, which is on little Weigall at Sydney Grammar School Edgecliff Preparatory.

Exhibition

The Museum of Sydney

Museum of Sydney

The Museum of Sydney, on the Site of First Government House is built on the ruins of the house of New South Wales' first Governor, Arthur Phillip on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Street, Sydney. The original house, which was Australia's first Government House, was built in 1788 and...

 is planning a major exhibition about the Sydney Stadium. The exhibition is due to start on 22 September 2012 and run until 17 March 2013. It will look at the origins of the Stadium as well as the fights, performers, wrestling and Roller derby

Roller derby

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...

among other topics.