 Glenferrie Oval in 2026 | |
 Interactive map of Glenferrie Oval | |
| Former names | Hawthorn City Football Ground Ausdoc Oval |
|---|---|
| Address | 34 Linda Crescent Hawthorn,Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°49′14″S145°1′58″E / 37.82056°S 145.03278°E /-37.82056; 145.03278 |
| Owner | City of Boroondara |
| Operator | City of Boroondara |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Field size | 160 m × 105 m (525 ft × 344 ft)[1] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Tenants | |
| Hawthorn Football Club Administration & Training (1906–2006) VFL/AFL (1906–1973) | |
Glenferrie Oval is anAustralian rules football stadium located in theMelbourne suburb ofHawthorn.[2]
It is the historic home of, and is synonymous with, theHawthorn Football Club, who played there from 1903 and as aVFL/AFL club from 1925 to 1973, and retained the ground as an administrative and training base until 2006.[2] Hawthorn moved to a redevelopedWaverley Park in early 2006, remaining there until October 2025.[3]
Prior to adopting Glenferrie Oval as the club's traditional home, the Hawthorn Football Club had a nomadic history, playing home games at whatever the most suitable obtainable ground was for that season. Their first home ground was theHawthorn Cricket Ground, which was abandoned after just one season due to conditions imposed by the Hawthorn Cricket Club, with the Hawks playing at John Wren'sRichmond Racecourse in 1903 (which was off Bridge Road between Stawell Street and Westbank Terrace – where Tudor Street with five no-through streets branches of are now located), before moving to theRichmond Cricket Ground in 1904.[3]
The Hawks' merger withBoroondara in 1905 had them move to Boroondara's ground, which at the time was theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground. Hawthorn dropped their colours of blue and red (similar to Melbourne's guernsey at the time) and adopted Boroondara's colours, which was a black guernsey with red sash but retained the name Hawthorn FC.
When the Hawthorn council opened Glenferrie Oval, then known as the Hawthorn City Sports Ground in October 1905, they endeavored to get a senior club to represent the district to be the main tenant during the next football season. The Hawthorn FC, competing in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (now known as the VAFA), and Hawthorn Rovers (a popular club in the Eastern Suburbs Association) merged to form the Hawthorn City Football Club and made Glenferrie their home ground (the word City was later dropped and the club was just known as the Hawthorn Football Club when it entered the VFA in 1914).[3]
Between 1906 and 1973, the Hawks played their home games at Glenferrie Oval, which was located in the heart of the affluent suburb of Hawthorn. The state of Glenferrie Oval and its location, close by the Glenferrie train station on the Melbourne East route, was a central reason why the club was firstly accepted into the VFA in 1914, and then the VFL in 1925. The club's onfield results had not reached any great heights in those early days but both the VFA and VFL had recognised the importance for representation in the suburbs east of the Yarra River. Glenferrie Oval was pivotal in these advancements of the Hawthorn Football Club as it was considered the most suitable at the time.[3]
In 1914, when Hawthorn entered the VFA, the council was required to build a new dressing shed to meet the standards of the VFA competition. These dressing sheds were erected in the north-west corner of the ground, where the Tuck Stand now resides, and were later moved to theRathmines Road Reserve inHawthorn East where it still exists today. In 1922 the ground was widened by 30 yards and lengthened westward by 50 yards - taking in the previous outer reserve ground - to the dimensions that remain today.[3]
The 1922 ground improvements also resulted in Glenferrie Oval's first main stand, which was a wooden structure to be known as the Kennon-Owen Stand, and had been purchased from the East Melbourne Cricket Ground in late 1921 when that ground was closed due to expansion of the Jolimont railyards. The Kennon-Owen Stand was replaced by theDr Ferguson Stand, a new brick stand opened in 1966 which was 185 feet long and could seat 1,450 people, with 400 undercover. It was later to be home of the Past Players Association and the original museum. The northern part of the Ferguson Stand was demolished to make way for the Victorian Weightlifting Building, which remains As of 2026[update].[3]
Glenferrie Oval's grandstand, designed in an art-deco style, was built in 1937 and later named theMichael Tuck Stand after club greatMichael Tuck, and housed the new changerooms and administration of the club. It is now heritage protected as one of the most significant buildings of the era. In 1963 the large scoreboard was erected at the eastern end of the ground. After the club won the 1961 premiership it was decided to buy some houses on the other side of Linda Crescent to build the Social Club which opened in 1962.
The ground was relatively small by VFL standards, but the intimate nature of the ground (with the grandstands and train line surrounding the ground) made for a terrific atmosphere. The Hawks had played 584 matches at Glenferrie Oval during their time there. The last game that Hawthorn played at Glenferrie Oval was in August 1973 when Hawthorn won againstSouth Melbourne by 37 points, in front of a crowd of 9,842 people.[3]
TheSwinburne University Football Club played its home matches at Glenferrie Oval in theVictorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) from1996 until moving toSt James Park in the 2000s.[4]
Hawthorn Football Club retained the ground as an administrative and training base until 2006. Hawthorn moved their administrative and training facilities to a redevelopedWaverley Park early in 2006 in preparation for the2006 AFL season.[5][3]
The ground is open to the general public, and is used for a variety of recreation and leisure activities. In March 2010 the playing field was resurfaced with couch grass for public use. The Hawthorn Football Club continued to host supporters' days at the ground if they won theAFL premiership, for instance drawing crowds of several thousand people in2014.[6]
TheCity of Boroondara is currently in the process of revitalising the precinct. The Ferguson Stand was demolished in 2023, with the Boroondara City Council planning on creating a new public open space where the Ferguson Stand once stood, as well as planning to refurbish the Michael Tuck Stand.[7] Following this, it the ground will again be used for senior VAFA matches.[8]
The location of the ground has always been expansion prohibitive, wedged between theBelgrave/Lilydale railway line and nearby side streets. The small size and narrow wings of the ground led to it being known as the "sardine can" amongst fans.[9]
The ground includes:
Swinburne are also happy with the size of their training squad and are very chuffed about securing Glenferrie Oval for their home games.