On Saturday, March 30, Council will celebrate the unveiling of heritage storyboards along the Bay Run, which commemorate the history of the club and the fleet, with an Italian picnic in Peace Park.

The APIA Club was a much-loved community institution during its 30-year tenure in Lilyfield, where Le Montage now sits.

Over the years, the club was an important gathering place for thousands of local families, who celebrated birthdays, weddings, christenings and community events there.

The formation of the APIA Club was the culmination of a committee’s efforts to establish an Italian sporting club as well as a point of reference for the large numbers of single Italian immigrants.

Anne Reynolds, former Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Sydney, said the creation in 1954 of the APIA Club “proved wrong those who claimed that Italians were not capable of transcending regional loyalties and uniting in order to work towards a collective goal”.

In her article, A Thematic History of Italians in Leichhardt, published in 2001 in the Italian Historical Society Journal, Reynolds cites many important moments in the club’s history, as well as important speakers who have paid tribute to the institution.

According to Reynolds, the September 26, 1967 special issue of La Fiamma recorded the significance of APIA in the following terms:

“For the first time in the history of Sydney...Italian emigrants have succeeded in creating a community for themselves, an order, an association.

“For the first time in the history of Sydney...Italians have given generously, without self-interest, suspicion or fear.

“For the first time in the history of Sydney...Italians have come of age, and provided proof of civic and democratic virtues.”

Then Prime Minister Robert Menzies made a speech at the official opening of the club.

 “You have shown us new ways in which to walk, new ways to understand,” Menzies said.

The club started out with 630 members in 1956, which grew enormously to 13,000 members in 1970, 49 per cent of whom were of non-Italian background.

The APIA Club’s restaurant had fame, and its variety shows and dances were well-attended.

Mauro Di Nicola observed that the role of APIA “went far beyond that of a social and sporting club”.

“It soon came to be seen as the Italian club both by Italians and Australians: this made it politically relevant,” he added.

The political voting preferences of the Italo-Australian community in Sydney were of great interest to political parties throughout the 1960s and beyond, meaning that many politicians visited the site, which became a forum to explore mutual concerns.

The decline of the APIA Club began in the late 1970s, when memberships began reducing.

By the 1980s, APIA began to run into financial difficulties as numerous other locales now offered the same facilities such as Italian style eating.

The club racked up massive debts (of up to $5 million) and there were difficulties in raising the money needed to maintain the soccer team.

The club was threatened with closure by liquidators in early 1996, and a campaign was made to rescue it through public support, with vigorous support from many prominent members of the Italian community.

A Save the APIA Club committee was formed, but the plan for resurrection did not come to fruition.

Nevertheless, the club was sold within the Italian community, and was purchased by the Navarra family from Sicily, who transformed it into the prestigious Le Montage which continues to host and cater for many Italian and non-Italian community events.

In the SMH of March 2, 1996, Australian politician Franca Arena remembered the APIA Club in the following words:

“The APIA Club is part of our history.

“Back in the 1950s when Italians first came here in large numbers, it was the only meeting place where they could enjoy their own food and language and culture.

“Menzies came here, and Whitlam, and this was symbolic – for the first time we were not just a bunch of wogs, we were part of the community.”

Iron Cove Bay across the road from the club was host to a famous fishing fleet, made up of many local Italian families who plied their trade up and down Sydney Harbour and out past the Heads from the 1890s until 2006.

To commemorate these two iconic aspects of Italo-Australian history, Inner West Council is partnering with APIA, CO.AS.IT., Le Montage and the Navarra family to host a 1970s-style Italian Family Picnic.

Bring your family and friends to enjoy the early light dinner, and stay around after the picnic for a free lantern parade and sunset spectacular, as part of the Edge GreenWay arts festival.

For more information visit the Inner West Council Edge website.

Parking at the venue is limited. Council encourages everyone to use one of the free shuttle buses that will run on the day from:

  • Ashfield Train Station via Haberfield shops (Bus stop next to Haberfield Newsagency)
  • Petersham Station via Leichhardt (bus stop in front of Subway, Norton Street), and,
  • from Leichhardt North Light Rail Station (Darley Street).

RSVPs are essential – please email Nicola Haynes or call on 9335 2015.