The Doug Walters Pavilion – Old Kings Oval
Off-field facilities for staging First grade cricket, were expected by the then NSW Cricket Association to be brought up to a modern standard across Sydney, and Parramatta was slipping badly behind at Old Kings.
The Kings School relocated to Pennant Hills Road, North Parramatta and in 1967/68 the Park trust offered Old Kings Oval to Central Cumberland, and it was eagerly accepted as a home ground for the club’s two Shires teams. In the 1969/70 season the NSWCA expanded their competitions to include 5th grade, and Cumberland fielded two teams in this new grade, who used Old Kings for home matches, and the oval also became the venue for the club’s mid-week training sessions. From 1972/73 some 1st grade matches were allocated to Old Kings and for several seasons the staging of these matches was shared with Merrylands Oval.
By the advent of the 1990s Parramatta District Cricket Club’s playing headquarters Old Kings Oval was beginning to become increasingly antiquated.
Off-field facilities for staging First grade cricket, were expected by the then NSW Cricket Association to be brought up to a modern standard across Sydney, and Parramatta was slipping badly behind at Old Kings.
Past players can attest to the sheer joy of using the original Old Kings Oval Dressing Room facilities. To say they were somewhat primitive could be judged a definite understatement:
Players struggled to find a space to sit or place their cricket bags, no canteen facilities existed, lighting and ventilation was poor, spectators had nowhere to sit, other than under a tree.
“It was great fun at the end of a hard day in the field to retire to your home dressing room, jammed in like sardines, needing to kill the resident Red-back Spiders in the single shower, where you could sometimes even get washed in hot water.”
On 18th September 1994 the facilities improved drastically when a stylish new Pavilion was erected. This was a quantum leap for the Parramatta Club, taking its base from a ‘humpy’ into a modern Grandstand and upgraded change rooms. A very welcome lift in standard for the club’s foremost playing venue. The picturesque Parramatta Park setting, and fine playing field was now matched with a top-class pavilion.
A great debt is owed by the club to the then members of the Parramatta City Council, and Federal Member Paul Elliott (a former Parramatta player) for driving the project from a conception into a reality.
The Grandstand was named in honour Parramatta and Test champion Doug Walters, a tribute to his standing in his local district and the cricket world at large.
Unfortunately, on the official opening day Doug was interstate on business, and a crowd of over 200 people were in attendance to watch his wife Caroline, supported by John Haines (Lord Mayor of Parramatta) and Paul Elliott (Federal Labor Member for Parramatta), conduct the formalities of the opening ceremony.
The new building was an amazing upgrade to the historic oval, replacing the primitive old shed-like eyesore and in the process, it served to lift both the profile and spirit of the club’s players, who then were to have a home ground that generated pride.
The attached pictures depict the evolution of the Old Kings facilities – the before and after were worlds apart as the pictures clearly reveal.
By far the most significant change to Old Kings Oval occurred on Sunday 18th September 1994 when a gleaming new Grandstand and amenities block was officially opened and named in honour of the Parramatta club’s champion former Test Batsman Doug Walters. In Doug’s absence his wife Caroline performed the duties supported by John Haines (Lord The new building was an amazing upgrade to the oval, replacing its primitive eyesore of an old shed-like predecessor.
By Tom Wood – Parramatta District Cricket Club Historian