Oval brings the community together

The Fremantle Oval and Victoria Pavilion has stood as an icon in the lives of the Fremantle community, its visitors and sports fans for over 125 years.

The oval’s unique location in the heart of the city has made it a focal point for the community and our local identity.

Originally given to the City of Fremantle as a Crown Grant in 1894, the oval’s legacy as a sporting venue was sealed with the first game of football played on 4 May 1895.

In 1896 the Council held a competition to find a suitable design for a pavilion to be added to the oval.

The design competition was won by local architect F.W. Burwell and Blackman Bros were awarded the building contract.

The Victoria Pavilion was opened on 6 November 1897 by Premier Sir John Forrest.

By 1901 South Fremantle Football Club and East Fremantle Football Club (until they relocated in 1950) called Fremantle Oval home.

The Fremantle Dockers established a base at the oval and had their first training session in October 1994.

The noise from the oval could be heard at the Fremantle Prison, as former prisoner Peter Dorizzi recalls.

“You never thought much of the outside world until you heard the football going off down the road.

You couldn't see it, but you could hear the roar when a goal went through,” he said.

On Sunday 12 February 2017 more than 10,000 people flocked to the oval to watch the first home game for the Fremantle Dockers AFLW team.

In 2020 Fremantle Oval hosted the WAFL Grand Final attracting over 10,000 people to watch South Fremantle win by a nail-biting three points over Claremont.

The oval isn’t just a home for football having hosted cricket, a popular cycling track and at one time motocross racing.

Fremantle Oval has brought the local community together to mark significant cultural and historical events, including the Inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia, the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 and a local celebration to welcome Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip on their visit to Australia in 1954.

It also provided a space for people to gather to mark the end of World War I and II.

The oval has hosted a variety of events attracting locals and visitors to Fremantle from crowds watching a Maypole dance in 1927 to a Rodeo in 1994.

The oval is one of the many unique venues for live music in Fremantle from country blues and roots to large festivals such as the Big Day Out in 1994 and the Falls Festival in 2018.

Di Grey attended the Big Day Out with her family and said it was her favourite memory of live music in WA.

“The summer of 1994 and 1995 in my mind are defined by the spray of the water hose held by security guards over the overheated crowd while we listened to the likes of Bjork, The Offspring, Ministry and Primal Scream,” she said.

As part of updating the Conservation Management Plan for Fremantle Oval, we are reaching out to the Fremantle community, visitors, sports fans and local history buffs to better understand the social significance of the site.

Share something meaningful to you, a historical fact or something uniquely Freo!

Visit My Say Freo to share your memories by 31 March 2022.