Ballina Fox Street Preschool had humble beginnings. The preschool emerged from a seed sown in the late 1960’s, when Elizabeth Wiggs, who went on to serve as its Director for 21 years, operated a private preschool in several church halls in Ballina.

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The town’s boom which saw Ballina population grow from 3,500 in the mid 1960’s to 19,000 in the 1990’s and now stands at 39,000 in 2013, has seen the demand for preschools and long-day care facilities outstrip supply. The push for a larger facility began in 1970 “The preschool kindergarten is facing the same problems as other schools in Ballina, and a position has arisen where an entirely new kindergarten is needed because the present one cannot expand further”. In February 1970 the Summerland News reported that “during the past few years, kindergarten-aged children have been unable to enrol because of lack of room”. This situation led to a request to the Mayor of Ballina, Alderman Ray O’Neill, to call a public meeting to discuss this issue. This took place on 6 March, 1970 and a steering committee was formed to progress the issue through fund-raising and support from Council. A motion was put to council which adopted the following recommendations from the steering committee:

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• The Council takes immediate steps to reserve a portion of land in the Lands Department plan which was reserved for this purpose, on the corner of Fox and Grant streets.

• The Council raise a loan for $20,000 and construct a preschool centre capable of accommodating 40 children.

• The Council call a further public meeting for the formation of a working committee.

• The Steering Committee also told the Council at that meeting that:

• 1971 was the target date for completion;

• The loan repayments would be met by the Preschool committee; and that,

• A minimum requirement for staffing was one early childhood trained teacher, one assistant and a mother’s roster.

 

The estimated running costs were $7,600 per year, meaning that a charge of $1 per day per child would be imposed. (In 2013, the Preschool has been operating for 41 years and during that time the various Management Committees have worked extremely hard to ensure that the top rate per day per child has risen by less than $1 per year since its inception). Twenty months after than initial meeting it was announced that the Preschool would be officially opened, however the initial estimate of $20,000 has now increased to $21,800 and the first enrolment day was postponed until 1972. Most of the additional money was raised by the town’s service clubs through functions such as fund-raising dinners and fetes.

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On a Sunday in September 1971, Ballina Fox Street Preschool was officially opened. Mrs. Wiggs was appointed the Director and the preschool had 30 bookings for the start of the school year in 1972. By 1974, it was reported that almost 100 children were enrolled at the preschool and by 1977, the Summerland News Pictorial reported that the preschool catered for 120 children over five days.

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When in 1993, the Preschool celebrated it’s 21st birthday, the local newspaper reported on the retirement of its Director Mrs. Wiggs reminded the public that when the preschool first operated, there were no government grants available. Mrs. Wiggs attributed the establishment of the preschool to a great deal of community support through fundraising and to very progressive members who has a vision for the preschool as one which represented the whole community of Ballina i.e. Indigenous, non-indigenous, different cultures and all abilities, allowing access to all members of the community irrespective of whether they are rich or poor or anything in between. The Preschool today is still strongly representative of that vision and has grown to become a symbol of community diversity and engagement and has over the years been instrumental in building a great deal of community capacity.

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The outdoor space has evolved into a wonderful place for young children to play in. The building itself may be in need of some renovating and remodelling and a coat of paint and we have an ongoing program for that. It is however what is inside the building, that is the education that a child receives in their early years, that is as progressive and as rich as you will find in any of the best preschools anywhere in the world. Ballina Fox Street Preschool places children at the heart of its educational philosophy and everything else evolves from there. This rich learning environment is one constant that has never changed since the vision was first created in 1970. Today after 45 years,  our students are the children of parents who attended the preschool right back in the very beginning.

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