Yarra Park facts for kids
Yarra Park is a large park in Melbourne, Australia. It covers about 35 hectares (that's like 70 football fields!). This park is a super important part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct. This area is the main place for sports in Victoria.
Inside Yarra Park, you'll find the huge Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). There are also many other sports fields and ovals. These include parts of the Melbourne & Olympic Parks area. The park and all its sports spots are in the inner-city suburb of East Melbourne. A long time ago, in the 1850s, some of the very first games of Australian rules football were played here. Back then, it was called the Richmond Paddock.
The park has paths lined with trees, perfect for walking or cycling. Some grassy areas are used for parking when big sports events happen. Three special bridges help people cross the railway lines. These bridges make it easy to get to the different sports venues. They also connect to the Yarra River Trail, which is great for bikes and walks.
Around the MCG, you can see statues of amazing Australian sports stars. These include Aussie Rules legends Ron Barassi and Dick Reynolds. You'll also find cricket heroes Sir Donald Bradman and Keith Miller. And don't forget "golden girl" Betty Cuthbert from athletics. Nearby, there's a very old eucalyptus scar tree. It has a big mark from when the Wurundjeri people, who lived here first, took bark to make canoes.
Close by is the Punt Road Oval, which is the home ground for the Richmond Football Club. Here, you can see a statue of their famous player, Jack Dyer.
History of Yarra Park
.jpg)
In 1856, a leader named Charles La Trobe set aside a huge piece of land for a park. It stretched from Punt Road all the way to Swanston Street. It also went from Wellington Parade down to the Yarra River. At first, this land was also used by the police to keep their horses.
The first ever recorded games of Australian rules football happened here in 1858. People loved it! A newspaper called The Argus wrote in 1859: "Football, like cricket, has become a big part of life." They expected to see many groups playing football all over the park. It was a very important place for football. This was true until the MCG and other cricket grounds started being used for the sport in the late 1870s.
By the 1860s, five sports ovals were set up in the park. These included the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Richmond Cricket Ground. There were also two ovals for the East Melbourne Cricket Club. Another oval was in Gosch's Paddock, south of Swan Street. In the southern part of the park, land was set aside for the Friendly Society's Gardens. This area is now called Olympic Park. There was also an oval for Scotch College. In 1874, Yarra Park Primary School opened in the park's north-east corner. Some houses were built on a part of the park in 1881.
Over the years, some parts of the park were used for other things. This included land for Melbourne's eastern and southeastern train lines. It also included the Hurstbridge railway line. Parts were also used for the Olympic Park Sporting Complex and Rod Laver Arena. Rod Laver Arena is part of Melbourne Park's National Tennis Centre. Even with these changes, Gosch's Paddock still connects Yarra Park to the Yarra River. This connection is at the Morrell Bridge, which is great for cyclists and people walking.
In 2007, the government made a new law about the park. It was called the 'Melbourne Cricket Ground and Yarra Park Amendment Bill'. This law changed who was in charge of Yarra Park. It moved the responsibility from the City of Melbourne to the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust.
Yarra Park is a very special place. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. This means it's an important historical site.
