Gillon Oval

Gillon Oval

Former names	Brunswick Park
Location	Hope St, Brunswick, Victoria
Owner	City of Merri-bek
Record attendance	17,000 (Brunswick vs Coburg, 24 April 1960)
Opened	1890s;134 years ago (1890s)
Tenants
Brunswick Football Club (VAFA) Brunswick Cricket Club (VSDCA)

Gillon Oval (also referred to as the A. G. Gillon Oval or the Alex G. Gillon Oval) is an Australian rules football and cricket arena in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. ^[1] It was established in the 1890s as Brunswick Park, which remains the name of the wider public park in which the main oval is located. ^{[2] [3]}

As of 2025, Gillon Oval is home to the Brunswick Football Club in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) and the Brunswick Cricket Club in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association. ^{[4] [5]}

History

Gillon Oval was established around the 1890s as Brunswick Park (sometimes referred to as the Brunswick Football Ground). From 1908 onwards, it served as the home ground for the original Brunswick Football Club (nicknamed the "Magpies"), which entered the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1897. ^{[6] [7]}

Brunswick Park was home to the first VFA premiership match played on a Sunday afternoon, with a record crowd of 17,000 attending a match between Brunswick and Coburg on 24 April 1960. ^[8]

On 18 April 1976, the ground was renamed to Gillon Oval in honour of Alex Gillon (1909–2007), who served as the president of the VFA and the mayor of the City of Brunswick. ^[9] An electronic scoreboard was introduced for the ground on the same day, making Gillon Oval the second football ground in Melbourne (after VFL Park) to have one. ^[9]

In 1991, the Magpies (which had been renamed to Brunswick-Broadmeadows in 1990 after a merger with the Broadmeadows Football Club) withdrew from the VFA after round 4 and subsequently folded. VAFA club North Old Boys (later renamed to Brunswick) moved to Gillon Oval in place of the VFA club. ^[10]

During the 2025 federal election campaign, the Labor Party committed to funding which would upgrade the lighting at Gillon Oval and restore the A.R. Glenn Grandstand. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. "Association Football: Brunswick defeats North Melbourne at Brunswick Park". The Australasian. 17 May 1924. p. 62. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
2. "BRUNSWICK PARK". The Argus. 10 March 1906. p. 16. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
3. "GILLON OVAL renewal plan" (PDF). Brunswick Football Club. March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
4. Phillips, Mark (28 February 2022). "Tensions flare over shared use of Gillon Oval". Brunswick Voice. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
5. "Brunswick Wicks to Host Vanuatu National Team XI at Gillon Oval This Sunday". Vanuatu Cricket Association. 24 January 2025. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
6. "Brunswick v. Northcote". The Coburg Leader. 25 April 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
7. "Brunswick Football Ground". The Brunswick and Coburg Leader. 9 January 1920. p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
8. "Brunswick v Coburg". The VFA Project. 24 April 1960. Archived from the original on 23 June 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
9. Ruotsalainen, Meike (21 March 2014). "Alex G. Gillon Oval (Brunswick VFA), Victoria". Scoreboard pressure. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
10. "Gillon Oval". Brunswick Football Club. Archived from the original on 11 March 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
11. "Redeveloping the historic Gillon Oval". Peter Khalil MP. 12 April 2025. Archived from the original on 28 April 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
12. "Gillon Oval upgrades if Labor re-elected". Brunswick Football Club. 14 April 2025. Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.