Cosmopolitan Place Making in Australia by Jock Collins & Branka Krivokapic-Skoko & Kirrily Jordan & Hurriyet Babacan & Narayan Gopalkrishnan

Author:Jock Collins & Branka Krivokapic-Skoko & Kirrily Jordan & Hurriyet Babacan & Narayan Gopalkrishnan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811580413
Publisher: Springer Singapore

3.5.5.2 The Germania Club: Cairns

The German, Austrian and Swiss Association Inc. was formed in 1971 to promote cultural activities for the community. During this time, the German, Austrian and Swiss community used to gather at each other’s houses for social functions and celebrations. They also did a lot of fundraising through dances, raffles and functions and over the next ten years had raised a significant amount of money.

In 1981, a member drove past an old church that was for sale and brought it to the attention of the association as a possible site for the club. After much discussion it was decided that the old church would become the ‘Germania’ Club, as it is known today. Everyone came together and helped out in any way they could whether financially or by volunteering their time. It took many months of hard work to transform the little old church to the new centre for the German, Austrian and Swiss Association.

The ‘Germania’ club is open to the public every Friday night from 6 p.m. and has a restaurant and a licensed bar. This is a popular time for the community to get together and socialise and the gathering often includes Australians of various cultural backgrounds as well as some tourists. There is a musician that plays German music as well as rock n roll and other popular English songs for entertainment. The inside of the club is like a little Germany as it has been carefully decorated with many cultural artefacts.

The Centre is available for functions to any other communities and is often used for celebrations such as birthdays, weddings and monthly dances as it can hold up to 100 people. The Polish community use the Centre to celebrate their National Day, while the Italian community uses it for parties and dances. The Dutch community also uses the Centre for various functions. The German, Austrian and Swiss Association Inc has German language classes held every week for anyone that wants to learn. The Annual Oktoberfest is also held on the club’s premises.

The focus group raised a number of key points in terms of the value of the club to the community and the users. One participant felt that without the club, Polish culture in Cairns would have been lost, as the community had nowhere to gather prior to the Germanic Club. Others reiterated the common statement that the club has helped them to learn so much about each other’s cultures and to heal much of the conflict left over from wars. The older people from the different communities benefit particularly as it helps to deal with social isolation in the community. One participant commented that the club was more of a multicultural club than focused on particular ethnic communities. As such it had enabled people to learn the skills to communicate with others of different cultures, as well as overcoming the shyness and reluctance to do so.

There are issues in terms of the long-term sustainability of the club, with a large proportion of the members being of the older generation.

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