Kooyong Tennis Stadium

Other Name

489 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong

Location

489 Glenferrie Road KOOYONG, Stonnington City

Level

Included in Heritage Overlay

Statement of Significance

The 1920s sections of the Kooyong Tennis Stadium at 489 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong, are of State significance and parts of the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s sections are of Local significance:

- as the first sporting stand in the State to almost surround an outdoor sporting arena in this type of horse-shoe amphitheatre architectural form;
- as the first to use reinforced concrete stands in any configuration;
- for the association with the designers, JT Knox and the firm Bates Smart & McCutcheon, both renowned in their field within the State;
- as, by far, the most substantial sporting structure designed for tennis in Victoria and Australia over a long period after its construction;
- as the venue for most international tennis championships held here until the 1980s, as well as a number of major popular music concerts in the 1970s and 1980s;
- as, from its construction in the 1920s, the focus for tennis in Victoria, following the lead of Wimbledon in prmoting tennis through the construction of large and modern facilities as a comparison with the many more traditional grandstands at sporting grounds already constructed throughout the state;
- for its association with most of the internationally famous names in thennis of the 20th century, as a primary venue for their contest within the sport

Group

Community Facilities

Category

Showground