Steele Park
Hamilton City, Waikato, New Zealand
Steele Park, Hamilton City, New Zealand — opened Not confirmed, 14 rugby league games hosted, home of South Auckland and Hamilton provincial/representative rugby league sides, for touring-side fixtures; not a listed home ground of the modern Waikato representative team, whose grounds are Trustbank Park and Davies Park.
Sourcing caveat: Historical capacity and floodlight status for the Test-match era could not be confirmed; current facilities listed by the council may postdate that era significantly.
Ground facts
| Opened | Not confirmed (Named for Lieutenant Steele, who arrived in Hamilton in 1864; described by Hamilton City Council as one of the oldest parks in the city. This site's own records show matches from 1912.) |
| Home club | South Auckland and Hamilton provincial/representative rugby league sides, for touring-side fixtures; not a listed home ground of the modern Waikato representative team, whose grounds are Trustbank Park and Davies Park |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 14 |
| Top recorded crowd | 7,480 |
| Test matches hosted | 6 |
| Floodlights installed | Present today (per current Hamilton City Council park listing); not confirmed for the historical 1912-1961 Test-match era |
| Surface | Grass (two full-size rugby fields, per current council listing) |
| First rugby league match | 28 Jul 1912, Hamilton 12-20 Auckland B (NZ Representative Games) |
| Years used | 1912–1961 |
| Location | Hamilton City, Waikato |
Name history
- Steele Park — used throughout
Rugby league history
One of Hamilton's oldest parks, hosting South Auckland, Hamilton and Waikato representative rugby league against touring international sides across half a century (1912-1961), including Australia, the Northern Union/Lions and France, before major fixtures moved to purpose-built venues (now FMG Stadium Waikato). Today it is an active community sports park run by Hamilton City Council, used for rugby, cricket, touch rugby and school/club sport.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 18 Sep 1919 — Waikato 5-58 Australia (Kangaroos Tour), attendance 1,500
- 28 Jul 1920 — South Auckland 10-49 Northern Union (Lions Tour), attendance 6,000
- 23 Jul 1924 — South Auckland 16-28 England (Lions Tour), attendance 3,000
- 1 Aug 1928 — South Auckland 5-31 England (Lions Tour), attendance 4,000
- 9 Aug 1951 — South Auckland 7-25 France (Les Chanticleers Tour), attendance 7,480
- 5 Jul 1961 — Waikato 8-26 Australia (Kangaroos Tour), attendance 886
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
← Rugby League · Champions list · All-time records · Grand Final results · World Cup · All competitions · Teams · Players