THE Wodonga Australian-Croatian Club began with fewer than 10 people and operated from private homes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now, 50 years later, the club has more than 100 members and operates from an established building in Mill Street, Wodonga.
It will celebrate 50 years tomorrow with dancing, food and guest speakers including Wodonga Mayor Mark Byatt, chairman of the Victorian Multicultural Commission George Lekakis and a Croatian consulate official from Melbourne.
Club president Slavko Gorupic said the club’s members met every Sunday and occasionally through the week for dances.
“Our members like to play games of bocce and cards when we gather together,” Mr Gorupic said.
“We are also very much in to dancing.”
Mr Gorupic said the club expected more than 100 people at its 50th anniversary party.
The event will start at 7 pm.
“It will be open to our members, their friends and family,” Mr Gorupic said.
“The night will be a chance for us to celebrate the love of our nation and our identity.”
Mr Gorupic said the Croatian community began on the Border through the Bonegilla camp.
“People arrived at the migrant centre and got a job in Albury-Wodonga and decided to stay and there is now more than 200 Croatians living around the district,” he said.
