Maidstone was more than a place of learning; it was a hub where families and community bonds grew.
Proud as punch, with a fighting spirit and built tough as nails! Spreyton’s first football team were a lively bunch. On Saturday mornings, you could hear the lads a mile away, trying to squeeze into the coach’s tiny Fiat as they headed off to play Aberdeen or Latrobe.
Back in the day, community ties were everything. Many locals believe that without the Maidstone Park Management Controlling Authority, the sports grounds we enjoy here today may not even exist. In the 1940s, the Authority worked tirelessly, raising funds to build the Spreyton Hall and ovals for the local football and cricket clubs.
It took nearly 20 years of hard work and dedication from community volunteers to finally see the Spreyton Eagles Football Club play their first home game in 1970.
The Spreyton Eagles Cricket Club soon followed, hosting finals in the 71/72 season. Today, these clubs still play, with the community and crowd just as loud!
Spreyton’s resilience transformed this very area, once a rubbish tip nestled among the apple trees, into a thriving sports hub. Over the decades clubs have come and gone, and as a hub of activity, Maidstone Park hosted more than cricket and football and is still home to the Devon Netball Association and Mersey Valley Pony Club.
If you look around, you may find the remnants of the baseball diamond and the much loved, Devonport BMX Club.
Today, we walk and play where generations before us once stood, honouring their legacy and bringing our communities together.
Just as they forged strong connections, we continue to weave our own stories into the rich fabric of this remarkable place.
A Field Before the Fields:
Stotts Paddock
Before the ovals of Maidstone Park took shape, the cricket community gathered at a beloved spot just across Figure of Eight Creek on Woodrising Road: Stotts Paddock. Here, the Ovaltine Cricket Club, (later to become Spreyton) was part of the Devonport Cricket Association, playing hard-fought two-day games on a simple field that held as much heart as any grand stadium.
This piece of land was generously offered by Mr. Stott himself, who became the club’s Vice President. In a heartfelt letter from Club Secretary R. Faulkner, the community’s gratitude shines through. Under Mr. Stott’s support, Ovaltine CC thrived, even finishing as runners-up in the DCA A Grade premiership in 1945.
These early games were more than sport; they were moments that brought the community closer, laying the groundwork for the strong sporting culture we carry forward today. Just as Stotts Paddock served as a gathering place back then, Maidstone Park now stands as a lasting home for future generations, building on the same spirit of camaraderie and shared pride.
