Our History
Cockatoo Kindergarten was built at the original site on the corner of Mc Bride Street and the Pakenham Rd in 1976 opening in 1977. The community raised the funds to build the kindergarten by forming a Co-op. They also built the lawn bowls and tennis club facilities, which was the first time a Victorian community had formed a co-op and built multiple facilities. At this point in time the population was only around 3000. This original Cockatoo kindergarten building provided shelter for more than 300 people and pets during the Ash Wednesday Fires of 1983.
The “second” Cockatoo Kindergarten was built at 23 Bailey Rd after the Ash Wednesday Fires. It was built on the site of the church destroyed in the fires. The growing community was planning a second kindergarten when the church offered to build it for them. The Mc Bride St building was community built on council land and the Bailey Rd building was built by the Uniting Church. The church closed but the kindergarten continued and the Shire eventually purchased the building.
Both centres ran as one for many years under one parent Committee, they were known as Mc Bride St and Bailey Rd. As the population stabilised and enrolments decreased 2 buildings were not needed. Due to unrepaired damage caused during the fires to the roof at McBride St, along with the high maintenance design, the newer centre at Bailey Rd was selected as the preferred building. We are now known as Cockatoo Kindergarten.
Parents began Cockatoo Kindergarten and it was parents that did all the work to consolidate two centres into one. Parents have over the years completed most of the ongoing maintenance and or fundraised to pay for it. Recent improvements to the kindergarten, which included a new foyer, office space and storeroom was through a dollar for dollar Shire Capital Works grant successfully applied for by the Committee of Management.