Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate of Sturt is home to a thriving Italian community, and the Sicilia Social and Sports Club on OG Road at Klemzig is one of the heartbeats. Just a week ago, the Sicilia club celebrated its 50th birthday with a very big party. Excellent food, good wine, a beautifully decorated room and a rocking dance floor with sharply dressed dancers are what you'd expect at a big celebration, and this is definitely what the Sicilia club delivered. But it also delivered a valuable lesson in history and culture and in what the benefits of a strong community can bring. The club's president for the past 18 years, Rita Bianca Palumbo, spoke proudly of the Sicilian region and the Sicilian ethos and traditions that the club that has lovingly maintained for 50 years.

The club's colours are red and yellow, the colours of the Sicilian flag, and its logo is the trinacria, which has Greek heritage but represents the island of Sicily. The Medusa head represents the power of the sea and protection by the Greek goddess Athena, the stalks of wheat represent the fertility of the land of Sicily, and the three legs represent the three capes or ports at each extremity of the triangular shaped island that is Sicily.

The idea for the club was born between two of the original members, who had immigrated to Australia from Sicily and who wanted to socialise with other Sicilian migrants. The club began in people's houses but, as numbers grew, bigger facilities were required, and the club's first external premises were developed at Camden Park. The present-day facility at Klemzig has been the club's permanent home since 1992.

The club's original motivations of holding onto and passing on the culture, values and traditions that the Sicilian immigrants brought with them and of providing a safe, supportive social network for the members have remained, but a new goal has also formed. It's one that Rita and her colleagues are pursuing with vigour. That goal is firmly directed at second- and third-generation Sicilian migrants: the younger generation who lead lives that are busier and far more complex than the lives that were led 50 years ago and who find it hard to make time to come to the club and invest in its sustainability. Rita's aims are to reach the younger generation in order to instil the value of thriving communities, to impart the wisdom that, when communities work together, everyone rises and to crystallise the importance of giving back and supporting those who have supported you or who need even greater support.

I have been lucky to have had many long conversations with Rita. She is an intelligent and fierce woman with a very proud Sicilian heritage. She is determined to highlight the importance of maintaining Sicilian culture, be it Sicilian dialect or cuisine. Rita, thank you for your always-warm Sicilian hospitality. I wish you luck and support in your endeavours to ensure the long-term viability of the club.