Upgrade of Mckay Playing Fields and Refurbishment of Fairland Pavilion

Upgrade of McKay Playing Fields and Refurbishment of Fairland Pavilion

High can once again be proud of the McKay Playing Fields and Fairland Pavilionwhen it hosts other schools at its home groundin Centennial Park, including for the traditional cricket lunches and rugby and football afternoon teas in the Pavilion.

The Centennial Park Trust’s maintenance of McKay No 1 has improved and it has recently resurfaced McKay No 4 and installed a new remote- controlled irrigation system for the field. We are hopeful that the Trust will install new irrigation and drainage systems for McKay No 2 and No 3 in the next couple of years.

The Foundation is also working with the Centennial Park Trust to get the Pavilion’s immediate surrounds refurbished and the Trust’s agreement to maintain the surrounds. The Trust has agreed to remount the large sign on the front of the Pavilion which makes clear that McKay Oval is the home ground of Sydney High School.

The much needed refurbishment of Fairland Pavilion has also been substantially completed with the installation of a new, larger electronic scoreboard configured for rugby, football and cricket.

The refurbishment, carried out by the Sydney High School Foundation, has includedfixing roof leaks; replacement of all window frames and windows;rendering of the external facade; relining of the verandah roof; upgrade of the showers and toilets; upgrade of the plumbing and electrical system; new floor coverings in the change rooms; new kitchen benches and cupboards; new tables and chairs; and repainting internally and externally.
As the Trust required that the external repainting be done in its standard colour palette, there is no more chocolate and blue. However the building looks very smart in its new natural colours and sits well in the landscape.

Installation of the massive new electronic scoreboard (3 metres x 3 metres) mounted of the top floor wall of the Pavilion and protected by a metal cabinet with an motorised shutter was made possible by the very generous donations of the family of Richard Green, who passed away in 2012.
Richard, brother of Martyn Green (1963) and the father of Mark Green (1992 1st XV) was a strong supporter of High Rugby, continuing well after Mark left school. Richard’s family wished to make a contribution at McKay because of the many happy hours he spent watching High play at the ground in the 1980s and 1990s. Their contribution is recognised in the naming of the scoreboard the‘Richard Green Scoreboard’.

The scoreboard is operated by wireless remote control and very easy to read at a distance. It had a good workout at 1st and 2nd XI cricket games last summer and the official unveiling is scheduled with the official opening of the refurbished Pavilion at ‘Back to McKay Day’ when High plays Grammar in rugby and football in the now traditional last GPS winter sport round on Saturday 6 September.

The next steps are to refurbish the canteen and first aid roomand complete the mounting of a large number of High team photos and memorabilia in the function room inthe Pavilion. Any old boy with an interest in rugby, cricket or football who would like to take on the job of selecting photos and other memorabilia from the School archives and arranging their framing and installation in the Pavilion should contact Geoff Andrews at