How it all Began..

Periwinkle was founded by Susan Perrow in 1986. It began with 14 children in a church hall in Bangalow with the aim to provide a loving environment where children could play and hear stories and sing songs - a special place where children could have time to be children.

There was no money for furniture and toys … but this didn’t seem to matter to the children. At mealtimes they sat at tables made from planks of wood stretched across from church pew to church pew.  Large washing buckets on the floor were used for sinks. In the garden the play equipment was mostly old tyres and saw horses, but there was a wonderful park and forest a short walk away. Based on the premise that ‘a good toy for healthy child development should be 90% imagination and 10% toy’, the children mostly played with raw materials – shells, gumnuts, seedpods, feathers, blocks of wood, clothes hoists (cubbies) and cloths. The teachers never tired of watching them play with such simple materials.

Very quickly Periwinkle grew - in numbers of days and numbers of children. 4 years in the church hall (packing up every week) were followed by 2 years in a showground shed (with only a once a year pack up in ‘show week’… this was progress!). All this time the search for land and fundraising for Periwinkle’s own building continued in earnest. Finally the call came from Byron Council – “we have a block to lease in Sunrise Beach.”

There was only a few thousand in the bank at this stage and a total of $100,000 was needed for the building. This is where parent and community support flowed in like sparkling waves! What wasn’t given in donations was given in building materials or labour or interest free loans, and within two years the target had been reached. It was an almost impossible dream made manifest! A most memorable moment was the day in early February 1992 when we moved the preschool down from the Bangalow showground to its new home … 20 cars and trucks loaded up in convoy coming down the highway. What a joy … what a privilege … to now be in such a wonderful new building with such a beautiful new playground.

Now, many years later, and much thanks to the devoted and creative input of the various directors over the past 36 years (Susan Perrow, Sue Gould, Kate Murray, Ellon Gold, Simon McLean and most currently, Lily Stafford) plus the staff and trustees and many efficient parent committees, Periwinkle’s home has been renovated and polished and upgraded to what we have today, offering programs 5 days a week. In 2016, thanks to Ellon’s committed contribution, Periwinkle took the opportunity to buy the land it stands on from Byron Shire Council, securing its long term future. Recent years have seen renovations to the kitchen, children’s bathroom, an extension to add a laundry and staff bathroom, and new vegetable garden beds and composting system to complement the food-focus curriculum.

Much more has happened since the early years to grow and develop Periwinkle into what it is today. Early Childhood Education in general has undergone many changes and the profession is now more acknowledged for its role in the educational life of children. Periwinkle has taken on the challenge of meeting the requirements of the NQS and EYLF and the demands of our modern world while not needing to compromise a Steiner approach to the curriculum. After 36 years it is now well established ….. it is known as a model preschool for Rudolf Steiner Early Childhood Education as well as contributing to the continual debate of contemporary Early Childhood Education.

Today, modern pioneers, in their task of finding new ways of working together and new ways of educating and raising children, often need to cross vast oceans of challenges. Periwinkle is one of these pioneering projects, and the teachers, together with the parents, have been a most wonderful example of people power achieving good work in our world.

Finally the most special thank you must go to the children – the ‘twinkle in the eye of Periwinkle’ – it is they who bring the gifts of joy and hope and trust that we need in our modern life – it is they who most help to keep the boat afloat through difficult times.