West Park Oval
Location: Burnie, Tasmania
Owner & Operator: Burnie City Council
Capacity: 12,000
Opened: Land Purchased 1912, First Burnie Athletic Club New Year’s Day Carnival 1915
Tenants: Burnie Athletic Club, Burnie Dockers Football Club, Burnie Hurricanes Cricket Club, City of Burnie Cycling Club
History
West Park Oval
The Burnie council bought nine acres from the Anglican Church trustees in 1912 for £5000 but, according to A.J. Donnelly’s history, the council paid an additional £3652/10/ in interest on loans before the debt was finally paid.
Donnelly wrote:
Working bees organised by Burnie sporting organisations, including the Wellington Times Cricket Club began clearing the area and laying a turf wicket as early as 1907. During 1913-14 the council levelled, drained and top-dressed the former tea-tree swamp and erected a grandstand on the western wide of the ground capable of seating 2000 people. In November 1914 the BAC paid the council £350 for roofing of the grandstand and West Park was ready to become the new venue for Burnie’s New Year’s Day Carnival of 1915.
West Park is the home of the Burnie Athletic Club, City of Burnie Cycling Club, Burnie Dockers Football Club and the Burnie Hurricanes Cricket Club. The Burnie Athletic Club hosts the world famous Burnie’s New Year’s Day Carnival. The Burnie Gift and the Burnie Wheel are run and won each Carnival. 2017 saw the 130th running of the Burnie Athletic Club’s New Year’s Day Carnival.
On 1st January 1977 George Town cyclist Danny Clark staged one of the most memorable moments in Tasmanian sporting history when he surged from the rear of the pack, 100m behind on the final lap to scream home to take out the 1977 Burnie Wheel before almost 15,000 screaming fans. The legendary call of the finish of the race by North West Coastal sporting identity Harold ‘Tiger’ Dowling is etched in Coastal sporting folklore.
West Park has three grandstands, the 1914-built Burnie Athletic Club Memorial Stand on the Bass Strait side of the ground, an open stand on the opposite wing opened during the 1960s and the newly built The Point members pavilion opened in 2009.