The Italians in Queanbeyan had once a well-known club, the Marco Polo, but since it shut its doors in the 2000s, the community has grouped together in what is now known as the Italian Community Festival Hall, located at 18 Carinya Street and managed by a not-for-profit local association. The original mind behind the hall was the late Domenico Barilaro, former President of the Italian Community Association of Queanbeyan, Canberra and District.
The committee which manages the Community Centre has been operating for over 40 years, originally known as “La Campana” and the “Italian Community Festival”. The Carinya Street property is Council-owned and the community has contributed over time to ensure the facilities were completed and could operate according to council standards to keep the Italian community together.
Adjoining the hall is The Grotto, built using volunteer labour specifically to house the religious effigy of the Madonna degli Emigranti, with a feast celebrated in May every year. In 2012, the structure consisting of a semi-cylindrical reinforced-concrete shell that has been covered in split granite rocks, with an entry made from timber and glass and the inside painted light sky blue was placed on the NSW Heritage Inventory Register, acknowledging the high social value for the Italian community within Queanbeyan.
“I joined over 10 years ago. Businesses helped out and the community backed up this project through donations, volunteers came in to support and in 2019 we officially opened the community centre with our first event,” said Maria Perre, vice-president of calabrian heritage.
In November every year, the community meets to celebrate their annual festival. “We are not just an Italian Association but also operate as a community hall for the entire community. The facilities can be hired and are used for social-recreational activities on a Sunday, including people coming in for a drink, pizza to play cards or for a BBQ. We also have a calendar of events, with Carnevale coming up,” said Maria.
The community-driven facility is headed by Richard Fornar, whose family is from Treviso. Richard is the president of the association and a project manager. “We strive to bring people together, not in a commercial setting, but to foster positive relationships in our community,” said Richard. The association can count on about 80 members and many friends, including 20 volunteers. “The main challenge is to bring the community together. I can think of about 15 associations in the Canberra-Queanbeyan Region but we have not been able to unite as Italians to this day.”
The committee also manages a weekly community radio program every Friday 7-9pm, called “Italiani in Onda” (96.7FM) with volunteers who ran it as an essential service during Covid-19 and were able to keep the community together during a difficult time. The program is in Italian, people can call to request their favourite song and important news about the local community is shared and circulated. Among those who help out with the radio are newly arrived young migrants from Italy who are keen to continue building the community spirit and cohesion.
Pasquetta Forner, a long standing committee member and volunteer at the Italian Community Festival Hall was thankful for what the centre can bring to the community. “I started with Domenic Barilaro many years ago. Together with other ladies, we cook and make biscuits to support the community, we keep ourselves busy and give back as a group to also keep the premises going.” The committee members used to look after the Catholic Church in Queanbeyan when an Italian priest was present, however for a few years now there has been no Italian priest in the area.
A calendar of events is sent out to members at the beginning of the year, calling the community to be together for a “Domenica Insieme”. Children’s activities, tombola and card games are organised on a typical Sunday, with a pizza or pasta meal available. A group of 10 also goes down to the former Marco Polo Club facilities, where Bocce Courts are still accessible and at around 4pm they then return back to the Community Hall for drinks and something to eat.
Building and maintaining a community focus, therefore, is at the heart of the Italian Community Festival Hall in Queanbeyan, keeping family traditions going and passing them on to the younger generations. “This hall is about doing simple things with the community, promoting our heritage, culture and traditions, reaching out to local Italians in all sorts of ways to make them feel an integral part of who we are in this part of the world,” concluded Maria.
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