April 1, 2022
Nanango & District C&K Kindergarten’s historic home is marking its 111th birthday this year but time definitely has not stood still inside the building.
The beautiful building was the original Bull Camp State School Building from 1911-1922.
It was then moved to become the Mount Stanley Road State School from 1925-1957.
In late 1962 it was then transported to 34 Gipps Street in Nanango to be used as the Nanango & District Kindergarten.
The kindy was officially opened early in 1963.
“If the hardwood walls could talk we sure would love to hear the stories over the last century,” kindy president Katie Mangan said.
“The building has lived through the good times when sporting stars like Sir Donald Bradman and Phar Lap made our country proud.
“It’s also seen the trying times for our community. its students and families, sending family members to World War I, World War II and Vietnam, and surviving floods, battling droughts, getting through fires and pandemics.”
Katie said the management committee and staff had been working hard and had been fortunate to receive several grants during 2021 and would like to thank those involved.
“We are proud to showcase how much love and care is going in to preserve not only a historic building of 111 years but also nearly 60 years of kindergarten service in Nanango,” Katie said.
“Our first thank you goes to our local Heritage Bank Nanango.
“Heritage Bank has been supporting our kindy for more than 20 years and it’s truly helped our little rural community kindergarten survive and thrive.
“At Nanango Kindergarten, community partnerships are an essential part of who we are. We value the importance of relationships built on trust and respect within our community.
“Over that time, we have received from Heritage Bank sponsorship for a concrete entrance path, kitchen renovations, office area, play fort, barbecue, garden shed and more.
“This year we were generously granted new flooring to replace our worn vinyl with new natural timber laminate non-slip flooring.
“Also thank you to Ian from the Floor Guy for his professional care and quality workmanship.”
Katie said the kindy’s second thank you was to the Gambling Community Benefit Fund.
“This grant has enabled us to remodel our indoor bathroom area,” she said.
“A big thank you to Josh Mangan Building and his contractors for their professionalism and quality workmanship.
“We build authentic relationships with people and place to strengthen reciprocal community partnerships. Some of our tradespeople were past students and parents within our kindergarten community.”
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Katie said her last thank you went to the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal for selecting the kindergarten to be part of their “Strengthening Rural Communities” program.
“This generous funding has enabled the kindergarten to purchase new wooden indoor furniture to create inviting play environments,” Katie said.
“Having furniture made of renewable materials supports our sustainable practices. Thank you FRRR for your support!”
Katie said the kindy would be celebrating its 60th birthday next year.
“We look forward to celebrating it with you all,” she said.
“How privileged we are we to have such an interesting part of Nanango’s heritage to share.
“Thank you to all the children, staff and community who have looked after this beautiful building over the last 111 years, you are all a part of our story.
“We have grandparents who were on our Management Committee 40 years ago bringing children to kindy, and we have past students from Mount Stanley Rd State School who drop in and say hello.
“They tell us great stories about riding their horses to school and how important this building is to them.
“The love and care from the community, staff and volunteers show what an important service this is and how important stewardship is to our community kindergarten.
“At Nanango & District C&K Kindergarten we create a culture of continuous quality improvement by ensuring that our indoor and outdoor learning environments are of the highest quality standard.
“We think of our environment as ‘the third teacher’ because children’s engagement and interaction of their environment helps them construct their own learning.”
