Welcome to the Club: German Sausage, Schnitzels, Steins and Singalongs in Elizabeth Downs

The drive to Elizabeth Downs is a three-hour round trip from my home in Hope Forest. But after living in Germany during my university years, there’s no limit to how far I’ll go for a taste of Deutschland.

Saying that, I only heard of The German Club of Elizabeth a few months ago, quite by accident. It turns out I’m not the only one who missed the memo.

“We’ve got one bloke who had been living across the road for 20 years, and he didn’t know the German Club was here,” says Bernd Heine, whose parents helped build the original clubrooms in 1974. “This is a quiet little place that people don’t know about.”

It’s no wonder. You have to search to find it. The German Club is tucked away down a northern suburbs side street and looks a bit like a Scout Hall. The weathered cream tin-cladding, rust-coloured gutters, and fading signs aren’t exactly head-turning, but what’s going on inside is unforgettable.

During monthly special events, the sound of traditional German songs can be heard from the street. I’m here for the Schutzenfest marksmen’s festival – an excuse to eat, drink and be merry on a Sunday afternoon.

It’s not even 12.30pm, and the party is in full swing. A man in lederhosen swings his frau around the dance floor to the sounds of Herbert Stauber and his trumpet. Stauber cut his live music teeth in Bavaria and Austria before migrating to Australia with his family in 1995.

The space is a kaleidoscope of colour. You’d almost swear you’re in a traditional Munich brewery. Hofbrau Munich buntings hang above long, communal tables covered with red and white checked tablecloths, and German flags and trinkets cover the walls.

A hole-in-the-wall bar is the epicentre over which steins of weissbier and paddles of Jagermeister flow. (But don’t even think of asking for a Jagerbomb. Sacrilegious.) When the Echt Stonsdorfer herbal liqueur appears, the volume rises a notch.

A queue of hungry visitors weaves its way toward a bain-marie of Bavarian favourites leberkase (finely minced pork and beef loaf seasoned with salt, white pepper, marjoram, nutmeg and onion), bratwurst (pork sausage) and weißwurst (Munich’s popular white sausage), all of which are cooked by Heine on a barbeque in the courtyard out back.

Large scoops of gurkensalat (German cucumber salad), tomatoes and potato salad are dealt out by cheerful kitchen helpers.

The club was founded in 1968. But it wasn’t until ’74 that the purpose-built space, 30 kilometres north of Adelaide, was built on a property that the German Club now owns freehold.

“When they designed it, the original drawings were based on an old chalet-style building,” Heine says. “Before that, we’d hire clubs around the district for dances and hold Oktoberfest on the Elizabeth Oval.”

Back then, hundreds of people converged on the club for dancing and conviviality.

“In the old days, when we first started up, we used to have two blokes with squeeze boxes,” says Heine. “The women play the card game arm and a leg [hand and foot] and the men would play skat. I was young and good-looking in those days. Everyone took a turn serving at the bar on Friday nights and my turn lasted until three o’clock in the morning because they played skat for so long.”

Nowadays, social drinks (minus food) happen on Friday nights. The last Friday of every month is a dedicated kransky or schnitzel night.

During the week, darts and eight-ball competitions attract a wider demographic.

“That’s what keeps the club going because it’s hard to get the young ones in these days,” says club president John Stumann. “The darts help get money in the till so we can do things like [Schutzenfest] for the older generation. If the numbers die off, the club will die a slow death. You don’t see many of the oldies here on a Friday.”

Stumann’s mother was the club secretary and his father was president. Now the Stumann siblings – John and his brothers – are dedicated to keeping the atmosphere alive now their parents have passed on.

Numbers may be dwindling, but on special occasions such as Schutzenfest, you wouldn’t know it. Members of the Austrian Club also pop in to show their support and boost numbers. The entire room erupts in a singalong of Ein Prosit der Gemutlichkeit, which translates to “A toast to cheer and good times”.

Among them is 92-year-old Adolf. “My wife passed away last year when she was 88,” Adolf says. “We had been coming to the German Club since 1974. Coming back here reminds me of her.”

Helga Mueller also relishes the memories. The 90-year-old recently celebrated her birthday at the club and shows no sign of slowing down. “I came to Australia from Germany when I was 17,” she says. “I’ve been a member of the German Club of Elizabeth for 50 years and I loved it from day one. This club always feels like home.” 

As the crowd links arms and sways to the Ein Prosit beat, it’s clear why. In a nutshell, the song lyrics translate as: “It’s nice to be here, in this cosy atmosphere, let’s drink to that. Let’s drink beer, and not just one.”

The German Club of Elizabeth is open Friday nights from 6pm for drinks. No booking necessary. Check Facebook and the official website for updates on monthly events, which must be booked ahead.

German Club of Elizabeth

26 Hamblynn Road, Elizabeth Downs

0417 857 982

germanclubelizabeth.com