Naming of Woodvale oval honour for Australian cricket pioneer Harry Boyle

ONE of the pioneers of Australian cricket - Harry Boyle - has been honoured with the naming of the oval at the Woodvale Recreation Reserve after him.

The Henry Frederick "Harry" Boyle Oval was officially unveiled last Saturday morning on the same day the new Woodvale Community Hub was opened at the Woodvale Recreation Reserve.

Boyle, who lived at what was then known as Sydney Flat - now Woodvale - played 12 Test matches and took 32 wickets for Australia between 1879 and 1884, including being a member of the first three Australian teams to tour England.

As a teenager Boyle, who was born in 1847 and later died aged 59 in 1907, had helped to establish the cricket oval at Sydney Flat that now bears his name.

"The naming of the oval is a tribute to the outstanding sporting achievements of Harry Boyle through his relationship with both Sydney Flat as it was then known and Bendigo," Woodvale Progress Association president Kerry Errington said this week.

Errington said the association was looking into upgrading the surface of the oval that would bring it back to a standard to be used, as well as also resurfacing the tennis courts at the recreation reserve.

As well as the renaming of the oval, it was also a significant day for Woodvale with the opening of the new community hub pavilion - a project which was first mooted in 2005.

"It's a space for a diverse range of uses; it's not just aimed at sporting clubs, it's aimed at active, healthy community participation," Errington said.

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