Toddlers, young children and trainees in a remote Indigenous community are credited with playing a key role in the effort to more than double the capacity of its preschool as part of a long process to bring services back to the former mission.
Key points:
- An Indigenous community has almost doubled the capacity of its preschool
- The centre will also be able to bring back crucial services such as health services, employment, and housing
- An Indigenous academic says the project has been his “soul food”
Murrin Bridge, near Lake Cargelligo, in the NSW Central West is a former Aboriginal mission that is home to less than 100 people.
For five years the community has been working with partners to build the Murrin Bridge Preschool Community Hub which will also give residents access to banking, Centrelink, health, housing and employment services, some of which will be available for the first time.
Local Aboriginal Land Council chief executive Jody Bartholomew said it would make a big, long-term difference to the lives of children, families and all residents.
“The emphasis is on enhancing cultural strengths, improving access to essential services and, ultimately, boosting education, employment and community health and wellbeing,” she said in a statement to media.
The preschool will now cater for up to 57 children, up from 25.
In the building process 12 Indigenous trainees obtained construction qualifications through TAFE, which is an industry currently experiencing a skills shortage.
The extension was designed and built with help from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
UTS academic Allan Teale said the design had been led by community consultation, with the children getting a say as well.
“Even the young three-to-five-year-olds got to have input into the design and what was important to them about what they’d like to see in their play areas,” he said.
“They didn’t get everything they asked for, but they got a lot.”
Dr Teale started working with the community of Murrin Bridge after he discovered his own connection to the town on his 40th birthday.
His wife prepared a family tree for him for his birthday and discovered his Wiradjuri heritage, which she traced back to Murrin Bridge.
He said working with the community to expand the current preschool and attract services back to the community had deepened his connection to his heritage.
“It’s my soul food,” Dr Teale said. “These are my people.”
“This is uplifting, especially in these times with the confusion we’ve been through and seen with the Voice.”
The facility has been five years in the making, during which time UTS academics and architecture students visited Murrin Bridge.
As part of the works, two new pavilions were built to create an internal courtyard that could be used as a play area or a community meeting spot.
UTS’s Campbell Drake worked on the design of the multi-purpose centre and led UTS students in consulting with the Murrin Bridge community.
Dr Drake said having university academics and students visit their town meant some Murrin Bridge young people felt more comfortable applying to study at UTS.
“We have been able to attract Indigenous students from Murrin Bridge,” Dr Drake said.
“It is a long way from Murrin Bridge to UTS, but I can only see that improving or increasing in the coming years.”