History

GNS has embarked upon a recent initiative to document key elements of our rich history as a club.  We invite anyone to share what they know so that we can continue to build the picture and improve its overall accuracy.  I hope you enjoy this initial snapshot.

Check out the Gallery for more great historical content from the archives.

Foundation

GNS was formed in 1998 through the merger of the North Sydney District Hockey Club with the Gordon Hockey Club.  GNS set out with 12 men, 6 women and 12 junior teams plus a thriving minkey program and masters teams, for a playing membership in excess of 450.

North Sydney District Hockey Club

In the lead up to the merger, North Sydney had been a successful top league Men’s club for many years.  To put this in perspective North Sydney were, from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, the enduring towers of Men’s hockey in Sydney.  In 1979 all 7 men’s teams played in the grand finals!

The home of North Sydney District Hockey Club was at Primrose Park, Cremorne, pictured above.  The brick building on the site was the former “club rooms”.  The club also operated juniors’ and women’s sections.

North Sydney District Hockey Club was itself a product of previous mergers of the North Sydney Police Boys Club with Cremorne-North Sydney Hockey Club (established 1928) around 1953, before then later combining with Mosman Hockey Club in 1959-60.

Gordon Hockey Club

Gordon Hockey Club is believed to have been founded in the 1920s, with articles located in the SMH as far back as 1938 recounting a classic match between the “undefeated” Gordon and Glebe!

Gordon too was the product of mergers over the years, operating as Gordon-Wahroongah Hockey Club from 1952 before finally shortening the name again in 1991 as the club became incorporated. 

At the time of the GNS merger, Gordon Hockey Club was a large club with aspiring men’s teams (highest grade in Premier B = Sydney Cup), women’s and juniors’ sections.

Gordon, in partnership with North Shore Women’s Hockey Association, had initiated the first artificial surface investment in Sydney hockey with the 1990 commissioning of the “state of the art” Ku-ring-gai Hockey Centre (KHC).  Prior to KHC, the club used grass fields at Bert Oldfield Oval (Killara) while Queen Elizabeth II at West Pymble was used for lower grades and juniors.  The women played in the North Shore comp mainly at Forsyth Park North Sydney, Flat Rock Willoughby (now Hallstrom Park) and occasionally Blackman Park in Lane Cove.

Gordon North Sydney Hockey Club

The GNS merger, mooted over several years, finally came as North Sydney were under threat from declining numbers, risk of relegation from Premier A and not getting signals of support from the local council (on future issues like potential for an artificial surface), whilst Gordon had the new KHC and a large membership base but needed impetus to crack top tier gradings.  The merger itself presented many challenges and was not without significant setbacks.  But the new GNS entity finally emerged, to re-establish its top grade men’s status.  The GNS Women climbed the rungs through North Shore and then SWHL competitions to reach 1st grade in 2007 and won their first division 1 premiership in 2018!

The logo of the then newly formed GNS in 1998, represented a combination of Gordon’s elk symbol, itself understood to be a reflection of the Scottish ties to the Gordon name and North Sydney’s emblem of crossed hockey sticks.