August 28, 1999 marked the end of an era. After 107 years Collingwood Football Club were leaving Victoria Park. It was an emotional day for any Collingwood supporter.

Fast forward to November 10, 2008, after 10 years of planning, the future of Victoria Park has finally been determined. The redevelopment planning of Victoria Park known as the “Master Plan”, which has been in process since 2004 by the City of Yarra council and has been given approval to proceed by Heritage Victoria.

In the coming months bulldozers will arrive and the redevelopment works will finally get underway.

The big challenge for the council was to balance the need to maximise the use of a public community space whilst, respecting the unique history of this land. Different groups, such as residents, Collingwood fans and Heritage Victoria, have different points of view how the park should be redeveloped.

Justin Hanrahan, coordinator of Open Space Capital Works and Design for City of Yarra, said that the council has worked hard to balance the different views. There was a lengthy consultation process with the general community and a committee established to determine areas of significance that needed to be preserved. “It’s all about respecting the past but making the most of available space for use by the community.”

John Varley, who is one of the residents and a representative of the Victoria Park Working Group, represents about 200 residents in the immediate area surrounding. He said many residents would be more than happy to see the whole ground demolished and turned into a park.

At present the park is not being adequately used. John said, “Because the ground is locked, most of the days, seven days a week, local residents or other communities can not access.” The park should not be like this. He believes that some walls need to be knocked down and the park opened up to the street. This is a common view among the residents surrounding Victoria Park.

Unlike John, mad Collingwood Football supporter Shane Barrie is one of the people who are against any change on Victoria Park. His great grandfather owned the land before handing it over to the council which later became known as Victoria Park. This was the spark for his desire to become involved with the Victoria Park Heritage Committee, which is devoted to saving Victoria Park.

One Eyed Hill is a favourite section of his that has been saved. However, the land will be flattened to make it accessible from the street. “Collingwood fans have had their ashes buried in this patch of land. Confident it would never be touched.”

Saving the “Rush Stand” is his current mission. Pulling down the stand will disturb the fortress like appearance he believes is so essential to the atmosphere of the ground. “The stadium will lose its character if the entire South side is opened up at the whim of a small handful of residents. The fact is, the football stadium has been there for 130 years now and frankly anyone buying property on the old Collingwood Flats needs to take that into account.”

In a bid to save the ground, Shane submitted an application with his case to Heritage Victoria whose role is identifying, protecting and interpreting Victoria's most significant cultural heritage resources. 

Yarra City Council respects the advice of Heritage Victoria and fully recognises its cultural significance. Not only are the council redeveloping Victoria Park to better benefit the community, but also trying to maintain its meaningful history. “I think the way the plan has been developed in our ambitions would mean that a person could come back to the ground and still see another Victoria Park that they remember as the Collingwood Football ground.” The council are very satisfied with the approved “Master Plan”.

In the approved redevelopment plans, the Sherrin, Ryder and Bob Rose stands will stay. Gone will be the Rush stand. The concrete walls flanking Turner and Lulie St. will also remain and strategic openings to the park will be made into the other areas. This will make the park accessible to the community. A walking and dog trail will be built around the perimeter of the oval. Some BBQs may be built. Parts of the old Collingwood Social Club will be available for use by the community.

Shane is pragmatic about the situation. “Heritage Victoria showed a good deal of common sense and for once a group has come out with a long term vision for Victoria Park. I was very happy with most of their decision, but we cannot have everything.” Shane will continue to fight for the Rush stands retention saying “the Rush stand roof must stay”.

Collingwood Football Club CEO Gary Pert has been quoted as saying Collingwood would like to resume some involvement with the ground. Already three VFL club matches have been scheduled at the ground for this current season.

The redevelopment will take ten years or more to complete. Finally after 10 years of planning, changes to the park will be happening. The ground might not be exactly the same as the day of the final Collingwood match however if a Collingwood supporter visits the ground and they look hard enough, they just might be able to see ghosts of Collingwood legends such as Jock McHale and Bob Rose leading the crowd with another rendition of the Collingwood Football club theme song.

This article is produced as the result of cooperation between yarraReporter and Swinburne University Media and Communications Unit.