Old Wanderers
| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Establishment | 1888 |
| Capacity | n/a |
| Tenants |
South Africa cricket team Transvaal cricket team |
| End names | |
| n/a | |
| International information | |
| First Test | March 2, 1896: South Africa v  England |
| Last Test | February 18, 1939: South Africa v England |
| As of August 19, 2014 Source: Cricinfo |
|
Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946. It has since been replaced by the New Wanderers Stadium.
The wealthy elite of the town saw a need for a sports ground for the public in the new town of Johannesburg. Around 1888 a deputation consisting of Hermann Eckstein, J.B. Taylor, Jacob Swart, Llewellyn Andersson and others rode to Pretoria to meet with President Paul Kruger. He was shown a piece of land of 40 acres west of Joubert Park, but as the land was to be surveyed and sold as leasehold stands, he was concerned about the loss of income to the South African Republic. A compromise was reached and 31 acres was set aside for a sporting ground with a 99-year lease and 25 pounds a year. The ground was first called Kruger's Park but was later renamed Wanderers Club, with Hermann Eckstein and its first chairman and J.B. Taylor as its vice-chairman. When not used by the club, the grounds would be used as a public venue. It was the venue for the Witwatersrand's first horse show, gymkhana and dog show in May 1891 and with a cycle track around the cricket ground people saw future world cycle champion Laurens Meintjes race. And in November 1894, the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society would hold its first show at the Wanderers ground before moving it to Braamfontein where it would be later known as the Rand Show. The grounds would host its first cricket test match on 2 March 1896 when South Africa played England.
By the late 1920s, the station passenger numbers south of the Wanderers grounds had outgrown its facilities. The new station would need additional land which was only available to the north and which was part of the Old Wanderers ground. There was opposition to the idea by the people of Johannesburg when a 100 ft strip of the Wanderers ground was proposed with the South African Railways offering ₤31,000 and the club wanting the amount doubled. The land was lost to the railways with the final amount settled on was ₤35,000
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