Seniors
Hurstville City Minotaurs seniors play their home matches at Punchbowl Oval.
Punchbowl Park has an area of 15 acres and was one of the first group of parks squired by Canterbury Municipal Council in the 1920's. The area around the edge of the park, along the nearby streets of Canterbury and Punchbowl Roads and Rose Street, was subdivided into housing blocks in 1923 in the first of two stages of-the "Punchbowl Park Estate". In June 1945 the Head Gardener for the park went past Punchbowl Park and noticed about 600 sheep grazing on the oval! Unfortunately the Council file does not say what happened to the sheep, but the oval was reported to be in a very muddy state after the sheep and rain.
In 1954 a new turf wicket opened by the Mayor, Ald GH Mulder, after a luncheon attended by representatives of local sporting groups. A plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion. In 1960 the Canterbury Municipal and Shire Cricket Club suggested to Council that Punchbowl Oval be renamed to honour Harry Culbert, who had spent many hours fostering cricket in the municipality They described Mr Culbert as being instrumental in getting the turf wicket laid at-Punchbowl Oval, then regarded as the best oval in the Shire Competition. Council did not agree to rename the oval, as it was well known as "Punchbowl Oval".
Council did agree to name the pavilion at the oval "The Culbert Pavilion" in recognition of Harry Culbert's outstanding contribution to cricket in Canterbury. That pavilion was demolished and replaced by a grandstand which was subsequently named "The Fred Corben Stand" in 1995, after the late Fred Corben for his contribution to local soccer.
The ground is located on Viola Street in Punchbowl and is just over 1 kilometre from Punchbowl railway station (approx 13 minute walk).
The following map is courtesy of Google Maps. Click on the map itself to open up Google Maps in a new browser.
Juniors
Hurstville City Minotaurs youth and and association teams play their home matches at Beverly Hills Park.
In the early 1920s, calls for a park in the Dumbleton (now Beverly Hills) area surfaced when the Meadows/Moorefields Estate was being subdivided. The subdivision provided an opportunity for land to be set aside for a park.
In 1924, Council was caught up in political problems with the Meadows/Moorefields Estate and wavered over the virtues of a park in the area. In 1944, a park had appeared under the name of Moorefield Park. It is unclear if the developer had constructed the park. However by then, Council was involved in the upkeep of the park. There is evidence that the park was used by the RAAF during WW1, and activities such as flying of model aircraft and archery occurred at the park.
The first use of the name Beverly Hills Park appears in the Council meeting of 1946. Since then it has provided facilities for football (soccer), rugby league and cricket. Hurstville City Minotaurs have used the ground for over 10 years and has significantly contributed to the upgrade of the ground including canteen facilities, new flood lights and general upkeep. Recently, they received the approval from council to erect two mini granstands, another pole with of flood lights and perimeter fencing.
The ground is located on Vanessa in Beverly Hills and is about 800 metres from Beverly Hills railway station (approx 10 minute walk).
The following map is courtesy of Google Maps. Click on the map itself to open up Google Maps in a new browser.
