History of the Clubhouse
"Zur Bewahrung der deutschen Sprache und Kultur"
With the founding of the Club in 1957, the dream of a Clubhouse was born; but it proved to be a long, hard, and stony path to realise this dream. Throughout the early 1960s, a range of different options for the location of the Clubhouse were considered in suburbs such as Barnsley, Broadmeadow, Minmi, and Speers Point. It was not until November 1966 that Lot 41 Hillsborough Road in Warners Bay was identified as a possible block. The block was approximately 4.5 acres with 200 feet frontage. After Council approval was obtained for the Clubhouse proposal on 4th April 1967, the formalities for the Club to obtain Lot 41 were completed on 18th August 1967. On this day, a sign was erected indicating that the land belonged to Germania Club Newcastle.
At the time the Club purchased Lot 41 in August 1967, the only other land that was occupied on Hillsborough Road was owned by a car wrecking business across the road. Yet, building the Clubhouse required a lot more than 'only' a block of land. In the end, it took more than five years from the laying of the foundation stone on 30th March 1969, over the Richtfest on 9th November 1969 and reaching lock-up stage in June 1971, to the opening of the Clubhouse on 23rd November 1974. Throughout these years, construction was repeatedly delayed due to shortages in volunteers and funds. Countless hours of volunteer work and fundraising events finally made the dream of the Clubhouse become a reality. On 14th February 1975, the Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr H. Türk performed the Official Opening of the Clubhouse.
Over the following decades, countless events were held at the Clubhouse. Among the most memorable would be the annual Oktoberfest Festivities that quickly became known to many around the region. The community also came together for Easter Dance, Karneval, May Festivals, the Annual Ball, New Years Eve, and of course the much anticipated Christmas Parties. Beyond these grand festivities, the Clubhouse was also home for weekly activities such as Friday dances, “sing-a-long” on Sundays, and movie nights on Mondays. A special entertainment was provided on Easter Sunday 10th April 1977 by the 40 strong Bavarian Society from the South Australian German Club. All were attired in their traditional Bavarian costumes. A children's group performed folk dances, there was a set of bell ringers, humorous sketches, and more.
As attendance declined noticeably in the mid-1990s, some of the functions had to be abandoned, or in some way rearranged. One milestone event should receive special mentioning though. On the 25th anniversary of the completion of the Clubhouse, a reunion of the voluntary building workers was organised for Tuesday 23rd November 1999. From the 89 invited volunteers, 50 attended. Sadly, 38 volunteers had passed away since completion in 1974. A memorable moment at this special event was the presentation of a replica of the Club's emblem made from ceramics. The replica was about 55 cm in diameter, and it was subsequently fixed to the centre of the rock feature wall at the right side of the main entrance.
