AMount Gambier organisation has made history in appointing its first indigenous and female president in the club’s more than 60-year history.


Proud Larrakia woman and Italo Australian Club vice president Barb Metzger has been promoted to president, set to take over from Rocco Bueti as of January next year.


Mr Bueti described the history making appointment as “magnificent”.


“Not only do we have our first female president but our first indigenous president which just goes to show the amount of change that we have undergone in our club over the years,” Mr Bueti said.


“From where we started back in the 1960s to where we are today, it’s a very, very different club.


“There’s still a fair bit to do but we’ll keep working at it and Barb will be a great leader for the club, I have absolutely no doubt.


Mr Bueti said he would remain in a board member position with one year to serve, but is stepping down from the president’s role to enjoy a breather after years of dedicated service.


“I just need to take a break and I just need to spend some time with my family because I have dedicated so much time away from them that I need to give something back to my family now.”


Mrs Metzger started with the club several years ago playing senior women’s soccer before joining the board and later becoming vice president.


“The community aspect of our club and the fact that I’m indigenous, I’m not Italian, shows the doors are open to anybody,” she said.


“We have got more women on the board than we have ever had and that’s just an indicator of the direction that we are heading in.


Mrs Metzger said she was taking on the responsibility of the club knowing how strong the history is with the very strong Italian community, but also recognises the shift in the community which the club “really reflects”.


“It’s going to be a huge job but hopefully it will be one that will reap its rewards and certainly so far since I have been on the board we have been able to achieve so much and it’s been outstanding.


“The real benefit is that we can see and use the things that we have been able to do with this club including improvements that we have made so I’m really hopeful that we can continue in that sort of stream.”


The club is very different today than when it first formed in the 1960s as a communal area for Italians migrating to Mount Gambier.


A lot of those original families and their descendants have now passed on or moved away with the least amount of Italians involved with the club there ever has been.


“We have gone from these very strong nuclear Italian families where they were all here and they were all invested in it to it’s the kids that come here and the parents come along to support or it’s the older kids that stay and the rest of the family has moved on,” Ms Metzger said.


Mr Bueti said the club’s changing demographic was reflective of current times and showed it needed to continue to adapt if it was to survive.


“Over the last five years the club has changed immensely and when we think of long term, we have changed immensely over the past 50 years,” he said.


“We are no longer the club we were in the 1960s and that’s due to the changing times. We’re a community club, there is less Italians here than there ever has been and that’s reflective of our community.”


Like many organisations, the Italo Australian Club is struggling to find volunteers, which was exacerbated since COVID.


Ms Metzger said looking at the way the club works with their volunteers to run smoothly will continue to be an important focus of hers as president next year.


“Just like any club really, COVID really hit us hard and to bring people back since then has been challenging but we have also got a shift in the nature of our membership,” she said.


“The nature of volunteering has changed, it’s not about ‘can you come along and help us’ now it’s about ‘what kind of skills have you got that you can actually use to invest into our club and when can you do that?’


“We actually have to really get to know our members to know how we can invest them back into the club and that’s going to be something we need to invest some time in but I think it’ll pay dividends in the end if we’re able to do that.


“We have to be realistic about what we can do and how we are going to do it and there’s no denying that we have copped some criticism about that but we have to face the reality and I think we’re in a position where not only are we prepared to do it, but we know it’s essential.


Mrs Metzgar said she would like see younger members to view it as an opportunity for them to grow and develop in themselves.


“If they start to volunteer, step up and take over some of these roles our older members have been doing for a very long time, that can open up the world for them.”