The Italo Australian Club recently hosted a ladies night to honour women both past and present who helped to change and mould the club into what it is today.

Around 100 people were in attendance including women who were the first female coaches and finance directors and ladies that ran the catering department.

The guest speaker was Rosa Matto who runs Nonna’s Cucina in Adelaide, an organisation that helps provide food to those in need, especially within the Italian community.

Italo Australian Club president Rocco Bueti said Ms Matto’s story was ‘amazing’.

“She spoke about how she identifies in today’s society as an Italian-Australian woman and her journey throughout the decades and her story was no different to many of the stories in our community,” he said.

“It was more of a struggle for women back then, we cannot shy away from that – that’s the way it was. But we need to acknowledge that it was not right and accept that what we are doing now is far better than what we were doing in the past.”

Mr Bueti said the club was honoured to finally recognise the ladies.

“It is a more cultural thing that men have been recognised for their hard efforts, but the women of our club never were and there was a suggestion to do this a number of years ago, so it’s been a process,” he said.

“It was not because we forgot about them, it was about recognising their contribution in the same way as the men have been honoured.

“It was important to honour them because they made just as big a contribution to our club and to shaping our club as the men did.

“It was important to recognise that behind the scenes there was an army of women that were working tirelessly to support what the men were doing.”

The club also unveiled an honour board recognising the dedicated efforts of the club’s ladies from the late 1960s right through to the present time.

“We honoured and invited as many of the ladies that are still with us to be part of the night and for those that were not and had obviously passed on, we remembered them on an honour board,” he said.

“It will now be placed in one of our halls in the club alongside other honour boards that have remembered the men and the presidents of the past.”

The evening also included roving interviews for those present, where people were asked questions about their involvement with the ladies and their memories of the club.

Mr Bueti said the ladies’ contribution to the sporting club truly deserved to be honoured.

“It is important to remember that our club started in the late 1960s, early 1970s and it was a very male dominated era but for women over the decades to make inroads to those jobs and in those positions really need to be rewarded because they were way beyond their years,” he said.

“Today women have the same opportunity as men but back then that was not the case and for women over the decades to have made those inroads particularly in our club is remarkable.

“We are only a regional sporting body and they have made such big changes and shaped us into the club we are now.

“I think in any association everyone needs to be recognised whether you’re male, female or however you want to identify.

“I think it’s important to recognise equal efforts, not necessarily how you view yourself or what sex you are, but it is particularly important to honour people’s contributions especially in a sporting club where we’re all volunteers, we all go there because we love to be there and we’re all doing it because we love the club, we love the friendships and all the rest of it.

“We hope what we have done is leave a legacy for the future generations where they will continue to honour everyone in our community for what they may do for our club.”