2011

Further grandstand additions

Roofing was added to the permanent grandstand on the southern end of the Mitchell Oval, and a set of demountable seating was erected at the northern end.

March 2011

Club awards recognition

Harrup was named Central Queensland Club of the Year and Queensland Club of the Year, the first licenced club in Mackay to win the latter award. Harrup again won Central Queensland Club of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.

22 October 2011

The Ryobi Cup, featuring Queensland vs Tasmania, was played in front of a crowd of 2500.

1 November 2011

Arabia comes to Harrup

Harrup hosted the Daily Mercury Arabian Nights Melbourne Cup party, featuring live camels and goats, setting the stage for Harrup to come to be known as a great social event venue.

2013

Further Club renovations

2014

AFL Feature match – Brisbane Lions played Sydney Swans

2016

The first of many successful Eat Streets was hosted

29 April 2018

The first of many annual CQ Emergency Services Days held at Harrup saw over 7000 people on the oval enjoying the displays and activities

12-13 January 2018

WBBL attendance record broken

10,000 people came to Harrup to see the first of many WBBL hosted games, when the Brisbane Heat played the Melbourne Stars.

17 February 2018

Pink Stumps Day raised over $23,000 for the McGrath Foundation, and it was the top fundraiser across Australia that year

12 November 2018

150th anniversary of cricket in Mackay

Celebrations included the inaugural Party in the Park, a free concert and charity T20 game at Harrup that attracted 8000 people.

5-6 January 2019

WBBL double header weekend, featuring the Brisbane Heat vs Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades

23 June 2019

AFLW Gold Coast Suns vs Brisbane Lions

16-17 August 2019

Harrup’s busy social scene

It was a back to back busy weekend, with international touring acts Xavier Rudd and Katchafire playing at an outdoor concert for over 2000 people, then the next day Harrup hosted the annual Beer and BBQ Festival with over 4000 people attending.

2019

Naming the Terry Hayes Grandstand

The grandstand was named in honour of longterm MCA Committee Member, President and Patron Terry Hayes who “dedicated his life to the community”. Terry Hayes has said: “My lifetime in cricket has left me rich in memories and so I sincerely thank all the cricketers who shared with me the cricket fields of the Town Common, Harrup Park and Queen’s Park and the delegates who, on every second Monday night, joined in charting the course of Mackay cricket..”

6 March 2020

AFLW Gold Coast Suns vs Geelong Cats

March-June 2020

Impacts of COVID on the club

The closure of the Club saw staff undertake regular phone check ins and more than 500 complimentary dinners and care packages delivered to some of the Club’s more vulnerable members.

2020

More awards recognition

Harrup was shortlisted in three categories, and took out two wins – Club Secretary/Manager of the Year and The Boundary Café won Best Dining (50-100 people) at the Clubs Queensland Awards for Excellence.

May Long Weekend 2020

Harrup hosted its first GBRA T10 Bash for Cash

Featuring 10 teams from Darwin, Sydney, Cairns, Brisbane, Townsville and Rockhampton. The Mens and State Challenges were cancelled due to the weather, but the Womens games went ahead.

2021/2022 season

Harrup started and concluded the Cricket Australia “Summer of Cricket”

Commencing with the Commbank Womens International One Day Series India vs Australia in September and ending with the Under 19 Championships of 10 teams in April.

November 2021

Harrup hosted 9 WBBL matches between 6 teams over two weekends

13-18 October 2022

WBBL Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Sixers

March 2023

Great Barrier Reef Arena community opening – Party in the Park

Stage 1 of the Great Barrier Reef Arena (GBRA) opened in spectacular fashion with two huge events. Thousands of members of the Mackay community took their first look at the GBRA at Party in the Park, held in conjunction with the DBCT Poole Cup grand final. Graeme Connors wrote and debuted a GBRA song for the occasion.

May 2023

Great Barrier Reef Arena community opening – Legends on the Lawn

Close to 8000 guests joined us for an afternoon and night of great Australian live music. Icons Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins, Mark Seymour, Vika & Linda and Ian Moss and Troy Cassar-Daley entertained the crowd in what heralded the first of many huge concert and sporting event experiences planned for the GBRA. Attending to officially open the Great Barrier Reef Arena in a ribbon cutting ceremony were The Honourable Deputy Premier of Queensland, Steven Miles, The Honourable Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, The Honourable State Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport Stirling Hinchcliffe and State Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert.

August 2023

Introducing the GBR Rays

Initially through a partnership with the Northern Kings, Mackay Cricket put forward talented Mackay juniors and women players to be drafted into the Northern Kings teams of the Century Cricket competition weekend in Brisbane. On the night of the 2023 draft, 18 local Mackay players were picked by the Kings and other teams. An opportunity then presented itself to launch a senior mens team, the only one outside of the Southeast corner, and so saw the exciting launch of the Great Barrier Reef Rays. The team was made up of Mackay, North Queensland, Brisbane and interstate cricketers. So successful was the team that in this their inaugural year they came runner up in the competition.

September 2023

The start of a local T20 cricket competition

The Porters Mitre 10 T20 Smash, held at the GBRA, featured four vibrantly named and attired teams sponsored by Mackay businesses that gave local senior cricketers another outlet to refine their cricketing skills outside of the usual seasonal competition. Congratulations to the CiteCon Kingfishers for winning the inaugural competition.

October & November 2023

Cricket and AFLW take over the GBRA

The brand new GBRA field and facilities were tested and proven highly successful with back to back cricket and AFLW content. We hosted the Australia A mens team, against New Zealand A in a four day test and one day match in October. We also hosted the Queensland Bulls mens team against the Victorian Bushrangers for a similar four day test and one day match program. Crowds flocked to the feature WBBL and AFLW games again, made possible through our continuing partnerships with the Brisbane Heat and Gold Coast Suns.

March 2024

Clubs Qld Awards win

At the annual Clubs Qld Awards in Brisbane, Harrup Park was shortlisted for Sports Club of the Year, and our very own Chairman, Terry Doolan, won Director of the Year, for his years of tireless commitment to Mackay Cricket Association.

June 2024

Legends on the Lawn again rock Mackay

Another legendary line-up took to the outdoor stage at Harrup Park in the third annual Legends on the Lawn concert. Thousands of people sang and danced across the afternoon and into the night to Icehouse, Jet, Jon Stevens, Pete Murray, Baby Animals, 1927 and Bachelor Girl.

August 2024

Century Cricket Competition relocates to GBRA 

The former Brisbane based senior mens competition was held in Mackay over the first weekend in August. 8 teams competed, from Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, including our very own GBR Rays. Congratulations to the winners, Adelaide Rockets. The GBR Rays are also sending junior teams for the first time to the Brisbane Century Cricket juniors competition in September.

August-November 2024

Another great season of cricket and AFLW

There were some exciting cricket and AFLW games again held at the GBRA in 2024. August saw the Australia A Women play the India A Women in three one day games. The Gold Coast Suns returned again for their annual home game in September, this time against Carlton. Two T20 games between the Australia and New Zealand women were held in September. And there was a four day match between Australia A Men and India A Men at the end of October, featuring very colourful and bright Diwali celebrations on Field 2 after Saturday’s game.

October 2024

Mackay Sports Foundation presents Round 1 Travel Grants

With the creation of the Mackay Sports Foundation this year, eligible youth of the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac regions are now assisted to attend their national and international competitions; to learn, network and grow in their sporting endeavours through exposure to game play at the highest levels. From many talented applicants, 21 sports stars were selected, representing a wide range of sports. $10,900 was contributed this round in support of grassroots sport and nurturing local talent.