Sydney Stadium Plaque

Sydney Stadium -- known in its various incarnations as Agricultural Hall, Rushcutters Bay Stadium, and Sydney Sports Ground -- was the premier large-capacity entertainment venue in Sydney for much of the twentieth century, and the site of some of the most significant concerts in Australian music history. A plaque near the site on Driver Avenue acknowledges the venue's place in that history, including the concerts by Bob Dylan and The Beatles that defined the relationship between rock music and Australian audiences in the 1960s.

The Beatles played Sydney Stadium in June 1964 on their Australian and New Zealand tour, to audiences of screaming fans that matched the intensity of their European and American reception. Bob Dylan performed here in 1966 on his controversial world tour -- the same tour that produced the 'Judas!' confrontation in Manchester -- bringing the electric rock set that was dividing audiences everywhere. These concerts, and others that followed, established Sydney Stadium as the place where international rock music met Australian audiences for the first time at scale.

The original Sydney Stadium was demolished in 1970. The Sydney Cricket Ground and the Sydney Football Stadium (now Allianz Stadium) now occupy the broader Moore Park precinct, with the Driver Avenue address at the heart of this sports and entertainment complex. The plaque acknowledging the historic venue and its concerts is modest relative to the significance of what it marks, but it is there for those who look.