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The Silver Fern

McLean Park, Napier

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hawkesbay
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McLean Park, Napier
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  • StargazerS Offline
    StargazerS Offline
    Stargazer
    wrote on last edited by Stargazer
    #1

    The interesting things you find on the net.

    I admit I didn't know much about the history of McLean Park, so I found this article interesting.

    https://knowledgebank.org.nz/text/newspaper-article-2005-settlers-kicked-off-long-goal-to-park/?fbclid=IwAR1mPsrqnJmE0hSWAtk67oUN1u712noS9NMJUmMAkI0nQ9JuB4eFJf3iwms

    I assume the second field is what's now the Rodney Green stand and Events Centre? Or was it at the other side?

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  • StargazerS Offline
    StargazerS Offline
    Stargazer
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    After a bit of googling, I found this. Some interesting milestones.

    History | McLean Park Napier
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  • dogmeatD Offline
    dogmeatD Offline
    dogmeat
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    I was at that first ever NPC match. It coincided with the May school holidays so some mates and I did a 4 day roadie in my old Bedford van

    StargazerS 1 Reply Last reply
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  • StargazerS Offline
    StargazerS Offline
    Stargazer
    replied to dogmeat on last edited by
    #4

    @dogmeat McLean Park must have looked quite a bit different at the time.

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  • dogmeatD Offline
    dogmeatD Offline
    dogmeat
    wrote on last edited by
    #5

    My recollections are quite hazy .It's almost 50 years ago and these were the days when you drove with a quart bottle of lion wedged inbetween your thighs which you would be sipping at regularly.

    We'd camped at Taupo and my old van didn't cope very well with the Kaweka's so it was a slow old trip across so we were pretty happy by the time we made it - not long before kick off.

    We sat at the western end of the stadium. I remember it was a reasonable crowd for a mid week game, bloody cold and a pretty dour game which Auckland won. The ground. A bit old - quite spartan, lots of concrete, but that was true of Eden Park in those days too.

    Despite visiting Napier at least four times a year and having walked past the ground many times, that remains the only time I've actually been inside.

    HigginsH 1 Reply Last reply
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  • HigginsH Offline
    HigginsH Offline
    Higgins
    replied to dogmeat on last edited by Higgins
    #6

    @dogmeat Not much concrete back than. Both the now gone McKenzie and the fire destroyed Harris Stands were definitely basically wooden structures with brick or possibly concrete bases. At the Western End would have been the Centennial Stand which went up in about 1956 so not sure what was there before that went up (before my time obviously!) The eastern end has always been known as "The Bank" and it's 100% grass.

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McLean Park, Napier
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hawkesbay
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