"It's very tough these days."
Mr Stewart said the situation the club was in was not unique and the issues it faced were common to the industry.
"All clubs and liquor outlets are struggling since the new drink driving penalties were enforced, which had an immediate effect."
Mr Stewart said the downturn of people using the club meant they had to look at alternatives.
As well as the possible amalgamation, the club would consider subletting part of the building.
Freedom campers have been welcome in the large carpark, in the hope they will go to the club for drinks and a meal. Mr Stewart said people hiring the premises for special functions was a helpful "added source of income".
"Members are using the pub less."
Mr Stewart said the community would not lose the club just now but, unless they could attract some younger members, he was unsure of its future.
"Young ones don't tend to go out till late, which doesn't fit into the club's timetable.
"At this stage, the club is a bit out of fashion."
Legend has it that Lewis Thompson-Milne and Mr Stewart had the idea to start up a workingmen's-style club while in the downstairs bar of the Pioneer Tavern on Queen St.
They put a notice in the newspaper asking anyone interested in the idea to contact them and a committee was later formed.
The committee held a public meeting in June 1972 and the Masterton Cosmopolitan Club was established.
Originally, the club had to close off on 400 members as "there were regulations in those days," so a waiting list was needed.
Eventually allowances for club member numbers were raised and Masterton Cosmopolitan Club at its best had more than 1000 members.
The base price for a year's membership at the club is now $85, which has not been raised for several years.
Mr Stewart said they now had about 800 members but chartered clubs were not an expanding business.
"We're determined to survive and at this time it's about making sure things are viable," he said.
