Adelaide Estonian Community Clubs and Activities
Adelaide’s Estonian community is a vibrant group with numerous clubs and activities on the go throughout the year. Check out what’s happening in more detail below.
The Adelaide Eesti Selts | Adelaide Estonian Society coordinates community events throughout the year and aims to continually offer cultural experiences that enable community members to stay in touch or create a connection with their Estonian heritage – no matter whether they are native Estonians or have a generations-old Estonian link.
A committee of dedicated volunteers run the Adelaide Eesti Selts | Adelaide Estonian Society. The main income for this community comes from the Annual Membership, which gives community members access to ‘Virgats’ – a monthly subscrtiption-only Adelaide-Estonian publication (written in an eclectic mix of Estonian and English).
Members need to pay a membership fee each year. Why not join now!
Download a membership form now
Please pay via Direct Debit, or ask for an Eesti Selts Committee member the next time you come to an event.
E-Virgats
If you are already a member and would like to receive Virgats electronically, enabling us to use funds on other more culturally enriching events, please email us now.
Folkdancing: 'Vikerkaar'
Vikerkaar is Adelaide’s Estonian Folkloric group. It means ‘rainbow’ which references the beautiful rainbow of colours on the ladies’ folk dancing skirts.
The group regularly performs throughout the year at Adelaide Estonian community functions as well as participates in a number of South Australian Baltic and multicultural events.
Age is no restriction for folk dancing! Our current age range is 7 years to ‘60-something,’ however depending on numbers we also have a special children’s group that can incorporate children as young as toddlers. We are beginning to prepare adult and children’s groups to perform at the Estonian Festival in December 2016, which will be hosted by Adelaide, and will attract folk dancers from across the country.
No experience necessary!
Check out the original Vikerkaar Constitution
When: Practices occur weekly on Sundays | 5:30pm
Where: Eesti Maja – Estonian House | 200 Jeffcott St | North Adelaide
Contact: Amy Tiivas
Adelaide Estonian History Club
The group explores online and offline options to trace Estonian lineage. The group’s focus changes depending on people’s interests, however the main starting point is the Estonian Genealogy Society website which describes the activities of the society and provides contact information for each of the county genealogical groups. That website also provides a comprehensive list of other genealogical internet resources that may assist people researching their Estonian ancestors. A ‘pay-for-service’ website has also been recently created, which indexes family names to all kinds of Estonian archival information. Many other sources are also explored in these meetings.
If you have an interest in researching your family history or have experience that you can share with other members of the Club, please contact Martin Kurvits or come along to the next meeting.
Open to anyone with Estonian heritage!
The Estonian Family History Club meets every two months.
When: the last Tuesday of every odd-numbered month (Jan, Mar, May, etc) at 7pm
Where: Eesti Maja – Estonian House | 200 Jeffcott St | North Adelaide
Contact: Martin Kurvits
Choir - 'Hapukoor'
The choir, Hapukoor (direct translation: Sour cream) has been up and running again since the 2010 Adelaide Estonian Festival. A dedicated group of people meet up regularly to join in Estonian songs.
When: Weekly on Sundays
Where: Estonian House – Eesti Maja | 200 Jeffcott St | North Adelaide
Contact: Kadri Auvart
Estonian Language Classes
If you love the idea of learning Estonian, now is your opportunity!
How it works: Eve structures the lessons to cater for the class; from beginners to intermediate to advanced levels. The classes run for 90 minutes and are organised to fit with different abilities and student numbers. Generally classes need to be a minimum of 5 students.
You will only need 3 things – a text book, a commitment to learn and a sense of humour! Eve is a native Estonian speaker, an internationally qualified remedial teacher and speech therapist.
When: Dates and sessions change throughout the year.
Where: Lessons are held at Estonian House – Eesti Maja | 2oo Jeffcott Street | North Adelaide
Contact: Eve McKinnon
For other useful Estonian Language links, scroll down…
Movie Afternoons
We run casual movie afternoons at Estonian House for local community members to access a good range of old & new Estonian movies.
Over the year we feature a range of genres and most have subtitles to make it accessible to all.
Estonian community members are welcome to attend.
When: Visit our events page to see when the next one is on.
Where: Estonian House – Eesti Maja | 200 Jeffcott St | North Adelaide
Contact: Relika Williams
Social Club
Friday bar nights at Kalev on Jeffcott (Estonian House) have been great successes due to those who attend. We have had many regulars and guests from overseas attending Friday nights. It has truly become a multicultural event.
Also at the bar, after choir and folk dancing, we often have a BBQ with meat and salads where everyone has been bringing something along for the table to share amongst each other.
Bar prices – Are we cheap or what?
Come and visit Kalev on Jeffcott for some of the cheapest alcohol prices in Adelaide.
With beers ranging in price from – Coopers Light $3.50 right up to Saku Kuld 0.5l for $7.00, in between this, we have a range of 20 beers available to suit everyone’s taste.
Soft drinks, mixers and juices are available from $2.00.
Wines both red and white are sourced from local wineries and range from house red at $3.00 a glass right up to $50.00 a bottle for a Travis Earth red. White wines from Rose, Riesling and Chardonnay and a red and white sparkling are available, all at more than reasonable prices.
We also have available, traditional Estonian vodka, beers, ciders and liqueurs.
Pub Nights – Kalev on Jeffcott is open for our very successful Pub Nights. Check the events calendar for the next ones! If you are available, please come and join us for a wonderful night of fun and frivolity.
Please feel free to come and meet our friendly and obliging staff at Kalev on Jeffcott in North Adelaide.
Free water is also available at the bar as the Estonian Hall Social Club Inc. supports responsible drinking.
Recommended by Täitse Prõua! Aka Tom Sarapuu
Estonian Language -Useful links
‘Our Home Co-operative Society’
Our History
Following a noticeable influx of Estonian migrants to Adelaide, in 1958 a group of recently migrated Estonians committed to establishing a main base for the local Estonians here in the heart of North Adelaide. The Our Home Co-operative Society was then formed.
The Primary Activity of the Co-operative
The main purpose of the Society is to provide a venue for the Estonian community in Adelaide in order to establish, provide, sponsor and encourage within or for the benefit of the community facilities which foster religious, educational, social and cultural activities and which expand social links between the Estonian and broader community.
Click here to check out the full Our Home Co-op Society Rules
Current Board
These days the Society is run by a Board (all volunteers) who coordinate the ongoing management of Eesti Maja – Estonian House, at 200 Jeffcott St, North Adelaide. This group is also responsible for the appropriate use and hiring of the hall to external groups and individuals.
To get in touch with the ‘Our Home Co-operative Society’ Board, please email:
Chairman: Mr Peter Helm
A little bit about the Shareholders
The original purpose of forming our co-operative was to help purchase the property which we now own outright. Initial shares cost £5 in the days before decimal currency. This changed to $10 when decimal currency came along in 1966 and has remained so ever since. The aim then, was to raise capital up to a maximum of £50,000 which in the late 1950s was a bucket load! (£50,000 in 1958 would approximate to $1.4m today.) It meant that the borrowing could be, and in fact was, paid off in very quick time; much earlier than the lenders had anticipated.
By purchasing shares, you become a member of our co-operative which is governed in turn by the state’s Co-operatives Act. The co-operative is the legal owner of the property at 200 Jeffcott Street. 10,000 shares at most are available in our co-op (hence the “limited” in the name).
The shares do not appreciate in value, so they remain 10,000 shares at $10 each. The maximum number any single person (or entity) can hold is 100, this limit being set by the rules of the co-operative. Should a person wish to recover their interest in their shares, they can be “cashed in” at $10 each. On issue currently are about 8,000 of those shares to about 500 shareholders, meaning the average shareholding is about 16. This also means that there are still about 2,000 shares still ‘on offer’ which would potentially raise $20,000 to go towards the cost of running the hall.
By becoming a shareholder, you are providing capital to the owners of a property which we call the Estonian Hall, situated as it is in North Adelaide. This capital is used by the Board of the Co-operative to do with as it sees fit to keep the place up and running. Because we do not make a profit, particularly due to the high costs of operating the hall, there are no dividends nor have there ever been in the past 54 years. It was only a few years ago, that we were staring down the barrel at having to find an alternative location because North Adelaide is an expensive place in which to own property (land tax in particular was the ‘killer’). Only through the generosity of the state government have we been able to avoid trying to find the $40,000+ needed to cover just that bill. There are other factors of course, and these are outlined at each Annual General Meeting at which shareholders, and only shareholders, can elect a Board and vote on matters affecting the general direction of the co-operative.
In a nutshell, being a shareholder means that you believe in the idea that Adelaide’s Estonian community should have a place that it can truly call Our Home (or ‘Meie Kodu’ as it would have been considered in the original thinking). For most shareholders, this has meant a lifelong contribution and the benefit has been an uninterrupted period of ownership and access for the shareholders to Eesti Maja.
If you are interested in becoming a Shareholder, please view the Shareholder Application Form.
