70 year milestone for Parkes’ first preschool

Parkes Early Childhood Centre will celebrate 70 years of operation this November, having opened in 1954 after being built as a two room preschool debt free and entirely by volunteer labour. 

NSW Premier J.J Cahill did the honours of officially opening the centre on 6 November 1954, as the Parkes Preschool Kindergarten.

60 children made up the initial cohort, with a weekly fee of seven shillings and sixpence per week for children to attend two half days a week. Children from out-of-town were able to attend for one half day each week, charged four shillings and six pence for the privilege. 

In 1994 the preschool merged with the local Occasional Care service in response to the changing needs of local families, and additional long day care places were included in the new service. 

The merger was made possible thanks to the service being willing to participate in a pilot project and partnership between the State and Federal Governments. In order to accommodate the revised service, extensive renovations were undertaken to expand the existing building and the service then became known as Parkes Early Childhood Centre Inc, opening in its new iteration on 7 November 1994. 

As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations service leader Miss Amii Marchant and board members led a tour for Parkes Shire Council members, also putting on a celebratory morning tea which was well attended by families. 

The Sector extends congratulations to the Parkes Early Childhood Centre community as it celebrates this significant milestone. 

Learn more about the service here. For local coverage of this story please see here.