Royal Agricultural Society Showground
Sydney (Moore Park), New South Wales, Australia
Royal Agricultural Society Showground, Sydney (Moore Park), Australia — opened 1882, 481 rugby league games hosted, home of Eastern Suburbs (now Sydney Roosters) — early home ground, 1908–1929.
Sourcing caveat: The showground's overall peak event capacity is cited by Wikipedia as 'over 90,000', but that appears to describe the site's general/agricultural-show capacity rather than a rugby-league-specific figure — the venue directory's own highest recorded rugby league attendance is 50,253, considerably lower. No single rugby-league capacity figure is included here for that reason.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1882 |
| Home club | Eastern Suburbs (now Sydney Roosters) — early home ground, 1908–1929 |
| Site today | Entertainment Quarter / Fox Studios Australia (later also home to Disney Studios Australia) — the Sydney Royal Easter Show moved to the new Sydney Showground at Sydney Olympic Park in 1997, and part of the old Moore Park site was leased to Fox Studios from September 1996. |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 481 |
| Top recorded crowd | 50,253 |
| Grand Finals hosted | 1 |
| First rugby league match | New South Wales v New Zealand (the 1907/08 'All Golds' rebel tourists), 17 August 1907, attendance approximately 20,000 — the first sanctioned match of the breakaway New South Wales Rugby Football League |
| Last rugby league match | North Sydney v St George, 11 April 1987, attendance approximately 24,000 — the last first-grade rugby league match played at the showground |
| Years used | 1907–1987 |
| Location | Sydney (Moore Park), New South Wales |
Name history
- Royal Agricultural Society Showground (Moore Park) — 1882–1997
Rugby league history
The Royal Agricultural Society established its showground on this Moore Park site in 1882 for the Sydney Royal Easter Show, but the arena also became one of the code's earliest and most important venues once rugby league split from union in New South Wales: the first sanctioned match of the breakaway NSWRFL was played there on 17 August 1907 (NSW v the 'All Golds' New Zealand rebel tourists), and it went on to host the first interstate matches between New South Wales and Queensland. Eastern Suburbs (today's Sydney Roosters) used it as their home ground through the code's first two decades, winning their inaugural premiership there in 1911 (11-8 over Glebe), and the showground staged NSWRFL premiership Grand Finals into the late 1920s. It continued to host club and representative fixtures on and off for decades afterward, with the last-ever first-grade rugby league match played there on 11 April 1987 (North Sydney v St George). The Royal Easter Show itself outgrew the site and relocated to purpose-built showgrounds at Sydney Olympic Park in 1997; part of the old Moore Park showground was leased to Fox Studios Australia from 1996 and today forms part of the Entertainment Quarter precinct, alongside the neighbouring Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 1911 NSWRFL Grand Final — Eastern Suburbs 11 def. Glebe 8 (Eastern Suburbs' first premiership)
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Notable games played here
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 Grand Final | Grand Final | Eastern Suburbs 11-8 Glebe |
| 9 Sep 1911 | 1911 NRL Finals — Final | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 22-9 Glebe |
| 16 Sep 1911 | 1911 NRL Finals — Grand Final | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 11-8 Glebe |
| 1910 Grand Final | Grand Final | Newtown 4-4 South Sydney |
| 17 Sep 1910 | 1910 NRL Finals — Final | Newtown 4-4 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| 1909 Grand Final | Grand Final | South Sydney 0-0 Balmain |
| 14 Aug 1909 | 1909 NRL Finals — Semi-Final | South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-0 Newcastle |
| 18 Sep 1909 | 1909 NRL Finals — Grand Final | South Sydney Rabbitohs 0-0 Balmain Tigers |
| 1908 Grand Final | Grand Final | South Sydney 14-12 Eastern Suburbs |
| 15 Aug 1908 | 1908 NRL Finals — Semi-Final | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 23-10 North Sydney Bears |
| 29 Aug 1908 | 1908 NRL Finals — Grand Final | South Sydney Rabbitohs 14-12 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
Only matches we have full, sourced records for are listed here — other historic games mentioned above may not have a dedicated match page built yet (World Cup coverage in particular is still expanding tournament by tournament).
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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