It was sticks down at the Forestville Hockey Club today with the completion of the new all-weather, multi-use pitch at Netherby, in Adelaide's inner south.
Once fully completed the $4.16 million project, supported by the Federal and State governments, the City of Mitcham and Unley High School, will provide Forestville – Australia's oldest hockey club – with a new home.
The hockey club has about 350 members ranging in age from juniors as young as four years old to senior players up to the age of 74.
The first key stage in the project, the laying of the synthetic pitch, is now complete, giving the school's students access to the new multipurpose surface for their physical education program and school sport.
Students will use the 6000sqm pitch, which is 100 per cent Australian made, for netball, soccer and touch football from this term and it will be used by the Forestville Hockey Club for training, with competition games to take place from the 2025 season.
The plastic resin in the pitch fibres is derived from bio-ethylene, a waste product of sugar cane production. The sand dressed pitch eliminates the need for watering and is a 90 per cent biobased surface.
Construction of the associated clubrooms and changing facilities will take place later this year, allowing the club to relocate from its current home at Millswood.
As put by Katrine Hildyard
To empower as many people as possible to experience the positive physical and mental health benefits of being involved in sport, we need versatile playing spaces.
We are proud to support the development of this multi-use space that does just that. Investment in this space brings huge value and possibilities to the school and wider community as well as to hockey club members and participants in other sporting codes.
This outstanding collaboration between the school, the hockey club and community, is a shining example of what is possible when people and organisations work positively together to create environments that have the health and wellbeing of people at their heart.
As put by Blair Boyer
The Forestville Hockey Club has been working closely with Unley High School with the development enabling students to play hockey, netball, six-a-side soccer and touch football on a year-round, multi-purpose surface – not just hockey.
To have public education and public school students benefit from this community development is exceptional and a real credit to the hockey club for their investment in playing an important role in the community more broadly.
As put by State Member for Badcoe Jayne Stinson
Make no mistake: without this new pitch, the oldest hockey club in the southern hemisphere would have collapsed.
An acute shortage of useable grounds for rapidly growing sports clubs has necessitated innovative collaboration - and this partnership delivers for the inner south.
Although I'm sad to lose the mighty Forestville Hockey Club from Badcoe - it's home for 120 years - I'm pleased the fight I've led for seven years has reaped a terrific result.
I'd like to thank the club, school and my colleagues the Members for Elder and Waite for their tireless work.
As put by Federal Member for Boothby Louise Miller-Frost
I am excited to see this state-of-the-art facility at Unley High School – public school students need and deserve top-class facilities and this will be a great opportunity for Unley students, Forestville Hockey Club and the local community.
As put by Unley High School Principal Greg Rolton
Our students will benefit greatly from the shared multisport facility through PE classes and regular organised house sports at lunchtimes.
Being an all-weather surface means students can be active outside even when the grass ovals need to be closed due to wet and muddy conditions.
As put by Forestville Hockey Club President Helen Stone
The move to Unley High School is the start of a new era for Forestville Hockey Club. With a long and proud tradition in South Australia since 1905, we look forward to playing and building on our strong hockey programs to ensure the success of the club for the next 120 years.
The club is delighted to share this wonderful facility with Unley High School, with so many of our current club juniors attending the school.
Not only can Forestville now enhance our on-field training and playing experience, we can provide community, social and educational programs for our members through having a single home base for all of our teams and families.
As put by City of Mitcham Mayor Dr Heather Holmes-Ross
This multi-use space at Unley High School is a fantastic asset for the school, the club, and the wider community. It provides countless opportunities for individuals to engage in sport.
To have public school students from Unley High School benefit from this multi-sport facility is an investment in their education and future opportunities.
