Kupara Park
The ground works were originally started in 1963 by the Katanning Shire Council. It was considered by many to be situated in the wrong place because of its distance from the town centre. Besides the main football oval, hockey fields were also developed and it was considered a long way for youngsters, particularly girls, to get to.
In 1986, the Katanning Greater Sports Ground, Kupara Park, finally reached the potential hoped for by dreamers from twenty years prior. Home ground of the Australs Football Club and Australs/North Cricket Club, Kupara Park was finally ready for a full season of football. The football club’s first game on the refurbished ground was against arch-rivals Kojonup on Sunday, April 20, 1986.
Although grassed from the outset, the main oval often rapidly deteriorated due to water logging and salt problems. Around 1982 a drainage system was installed to try and overcome the water logging problems. The system proved not to be successful and the ground again deteriorated.
It was then that several people from the Australs Football Club, especially Les Panting, Phil Risebrough and Henry Poett, decided to do something about the problems. A new, better, drainage system was installed to take excess water away from the oval through a passing creek.
When the major work was completed, the Australs Football Club leased the ground from the Katanning Shire Council and nurtured the new grass covering to its final condition. A cricket pitch was added and practice nets erected at the side of the ground near the main entrance to the oval. Extensive work was carried was carried out to the club-rooms and change-rooms. Gym equipment was added to the change-rooms and a bar was added to the club-rooms shortly after.
In 1985, the Australs Football Club started playing its home games back at the oval although the playing surface was still patchy. In 1986, after a lot of hard work over the summer months by members of both the football and cricket clubs, the surface was finally in tip-top condition.
At the time, the Australs Football Club and Australs/North Cricket Club publicly thanked the following: Bill Page (Katanning Brick), Gunther Suikenik (Katanning Used Auto Parts), Peter Philpott, Vince Saunders, Brenton Stewart, and Peter Beeck (On-Site Concrete).
The Wanderers Football Club also used Kupara Park as a home ground for several years, in conjunction with Australs, prior to moving to O’Callaghan Park and eventually to the Katanning Leisure Centre.
Following the demise of the Australs Football Club, the ground lay idle for quite some time. Today, it is leased from the Katanning Shire Council by the Katanning Machinery Restoration Club who hold its annual Trach-Mac event there.
WA COUNTRY CLASSICS
RONALD COLES (Australs) on the left at training with teammates CHRIS MCMAHON and KERRY JENKIN
Great Southern Football League
Pic from Aboriginal Football : The Indigenous Game
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