The Queenstown Crows haven't lost a home game for three years, but it's not necessarily an enviable position to be in.

The ground the team plays on is unique — rather than a field of lush, green grass, the oval at Queenstown is made of gravel.

The town, on Tasmania's west coast, is built around the Mt Lyell copper mine, close to the rainforest of the state's Wilderness World Heritage Area.

The unique gravel surface is credited to the local mining pollution that made growing grass difficult, combined with high rainfall — the town gets 2,408 mm of rain a year.

Queenstown's gravel oval is heritage listed. ( ABC News: Felicity Ogilvie )

"The gravel was laid with silica until 1969, when smelters were still in use for mining," Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame historian Daniel Smedley said.

"The oval was laid with gravel because of the difficulty in establishing grass fields in the barren environment created by the heavy metal smelters of Queenstown."

Even today, the surface is considered the best playing field on the west coast in winter when the rain is falling.

How is it maintained?

Rolling machines are used to maintain the oval. ( Supplied: Graeme Young )

The AFL has strict guidelines on what preferred playing field conditions are — they include well-groomed, green grass.

In Queenstown, the local council uses a 10-tonne roller to flatten out the oval.

"It knocks the rocks back into the ground," West Coast Council works manager Scott Butler said.

Works manager at the West Coast Council Scott Butler is charged with looking after the field. ( ABC News: Felicity Ogilvie )

The council also brings in six to 10 truckloads of gravel a year from the Corinna Pit near the Reece Dam.

They make a boundary line by digging a trench and dying the gravel.

Which famous feet have trod the gravel?

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Some famous Australian rules footballers grew up in Queenstown, including Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan, Sydney Swans player Daryn Cresswell, the late Carlton player Arthur Hodgson and St Kilda and Richmond legend Ian Stewart.

Stewart, 76, was born in Queenstown and learnt to play on the gravel before moving to Hobart when he was 12.

"I still have scars," the three-time Brownlow Medallist said.

In fact, the football great says it taught him not to fall over.

"That's why the Tasmanians seem to have very good balance," he said.

The playing surface itself enjoys a level of renown — it is heritage-listed and was inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

What do players think?

For the players, it's a matter of adapting to their somewhat harsh environment.

Aaron Burden has played 300 games for the Queenstown Crows.

"My knees are pretty knocked up, but you learn to roll with it, or land on someone, or stay on your feet," he said.

Current Queenstown Crows ruckman Joe Taylor once passed out from his gravel rash.

He still has the scar from the graze that got infected, causing him to faint in the shower, landing him in hospital.

In the rain, the oval is one of the best to play at. ( The Unconformity )

He said playing in the ruck takes a "toll on your ankles and knees jumping on a firm surface".

But it is perhaps club match manager Cheryl Gamble who could have the biggest complaint.

Every week she washes 42 guernseys, often cleaning blood and gravel from them.

"You have to hose them off before you put them in the washing machine," she said.