Melbourne's Olympic Legacy Part 1
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| 1965 Aerial view of District |
The Olympics is nearly on us again, even though it wasn’t that long ago we experienced the crowd free Co-vid effected Tokyo Games, this years Paris Olympics are greatly anticipated by even those who don’t really follow sport that much
With
the build-up to the Paris Games, I decided to have a look back on the legacy of
the 1956 Melbourne Games. Growing up in the 1960s & '70s, I visited a lot
of the venues, watched them be repurposed, and in some cases, demolished.
Melbourne won hosting rights in 1949, beating Buenos
Aries by a single vote. The Melbourne Cricket Ground was to be the main
venue and centrepiece. By the time Melbourne was chosen, it had already existed
for close to a century and was already a major landmark. Situated in a central
position close to public transport, it was also adjacent to one of our city’s
founding fathers’ fortunate decisions.
Across the railyards where most of the city’s
Olympic legacy lies.
Nearly seventy years ago, Melbourne already had a
dedicated sports precinct where many of the events were held, Having already existed
since 1896 and well placed, These venues just needed some attention, slap a
ring logo on them and our city had its own Olympic Park next to the city centre,
one whose location still exists today. Throw in a ready-made workforce returned
from the war. Melbourne was set to build.
A dedicated sport and recreation area since the
1860s, the realignment of the Yarra River in 1896 created the park as it is
today.
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| 1966 Map of district |
Once, Olympic Park was modified again, with two
arenas (Conveniently called Ground 1 & 2) and an improved velodrome
installed plus hockey and soccer fields. The one major structural addition was
the Olympic swimming pool, erected on the riverbank at the
park’s western edge.
So, as you can imagine Olympic Park was by far busier
than the main stadium (MCG) hosting all swimming, diving, water polo, hockey,
soccer, and nonroad cycling events
This is how I remember the area as I used to catch
the train into the city. All the buildings were on full display as you passed
through the Jolimont railyards. The Swimming Centre still displays the Olympic
Rings. By then though Ground 2 had been transformed into a Greyhound track,
with Ground 1 becoming our premier track
and field and Soccer venue. The Velodrome fared less well, becoming a car park.
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| 2024 Map of district |
Other venues for the 1956 Games were the Exhibition
Buildings, which due to heritage protection still remains as it did in 1956,
almost the same as it did in 1888 for that matter. However, for the Olympics, a stadium annex was built, which
along with some temporary seating, was all that was needed to prepare the venue
for hosting the basketball, wrestling, and weightlifting.
Another
unspoiled venue is the St. Kilda Town Hall which hosted the Fencing.
Festival
Hall in West Melbourne, was the host of the Boxing and Gymnastics.
When I was
growing up Festival Hall was the major events venue for bands, housing shows from
the Beatles, Rolling Stones to Frank Sinatra and Liberace. It nearly wasn’t an
Olympic venue as it burned down in 1955 but was quickly rebuilt in time for the
Games. It has been upgraded to a more modern facility and it still operates
today.
The Sailing
was held in Port Phillip Bay, which is obviously still with us today and all
the rowing was held in Ballarat on Lake Wendouree, though it had its problems
getting ready and complying with international regulations it was a hugely
successful event for Ballarat, even though Australia won no medals. I first
visited it in the drought years of the mid-2000s when it was virtually a field,
but going back recently and seeing it full made me realize how wonderful and
idyllic a venue it must have been.
The
Shooting was held at the Williamstown Rifle Range, it is now a housing estate.
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| Venues used for 1956 events |
The modern Pentathlon
was held in three venues, shooting at the above-mentioned Rifle range, fencing
at St Kilda, and two other disciplines, swimming and running at Olympic Park,
whilst the show jumping was held at Broadmeadows at the Oakland Hunt Club,
which still exists today as a riding school. It was the only sport where horses
were used in the Melbourne Games as local horses were supplied for the
athletes. All other Equestrian events were held in Stockholm Sweden due
to Australia’s strict quarantine laws. Something that doesn’t seem as much a
problem these days, judging by the amount of foreign horses in the Melbourne
Cup.
Originally published in BBCN Issue 334 July 2024
