Queanbeyan’s rich migrant history is set to be celebrated with the construction of a new Italian Community Hall, 13 years after the closure of the original Marco Polo Club.
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In its heyday, the club’s precinct on Carinya Street was a bustling haven of food, festive fun and football. The Italians represented the third highest multicultural presence in Queanbeyan and it was a common occurrence to see thousands of people crowding around Marco Polo Oval - now Riverside Stadium - to watch the city’s National Soccer League club Inter Monaro play against the top squads in the country.
Unfortunately the Marco Polo Club fell victim to an unforgiving fiscal market and closed its doors for the final time in May 2003, but thanks to the efforts of the Italian Community Association of Queanbeyan, Canberra and District and its long serving president Domenico Barilaro, the group will have a place to call home once again.
“The Italian community has been without a place to call their home for many years but the hall will be a place for the whole community to meet,” Mr Barilaro said.
“Anyone can come, the only thing I want is for people to show respect to the hall.”
Located a mere 500 metres from the site of the original Marco Polo Club on Carinya Street, the Community Hall has been spearheaded by Mr Barilaro and is currently in the midst of construction. The final product is being built around the heritage-listed Grotto and will boast an abundance of amenities including male, female and disabled toilets, a large kitchen, a mammoth-sized hall, two undercover bocce courts and a full view of Riverside Stadium from the building’s bay windows.
“We will hopefully be finished by the end of the year,” Mr Barilaro said.
Funding for the Community Hall was gained through a joint initiative between Queanbeyan City Council and the NSW state government, alongside the generous contribution of the greater community.
