Basin Reserve

Story

The Basin Reserve is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. The Basin Reserve is the only cricket ground in New Zealand to have Historic Place status as it is the oldest test cricket ground in New Zealand. The ground has been used for events other than cricket, such as concerts, sports events and other social gatherings, but now it is mostly used for cricket, particularly Test matches. It is also the main home ground for Wellington Firebirds.LocationThe Basin Reserve is two kilometres south of the Wellington CBD at the foot of Mount Victoria. Government House, St Marks Church School, and the Wellington College boys' school are to the south of the Basin, across the street. At the eastern end of the basin is the Mount Victoria Tunnel, which increased the traffic flow around the Basin Reserve when it was built in 1931.The New Zealand Cricket Museum is located in the Old Grandstand. It houses cricket memorabilia and a reference library.The Basin Reserve is also surrounded by numerous other Wellington landmarks, including Mount Cook Barracks, the National War Memorial, several colleges and high schools, the Caledonian Hotel and the former Dominion Museum. A fire station is located across the street from the ground: traditionally its occupants would watch ongoing matches during their down-time, and would set off the station's siren to mark New Zealand wickets taken or when a batsman reached a milestone like a 50 or century. The Basin Reserve is the intersection point for the Wellington suburbs of Mount Cook, Newtown and Mount Victoria.