Our History
Some of Pat Graham's earliest memories are of walking the streets of the Lake Park estate gathering signatures to push for a kindergarten in the area.
She fondly remembers all the cups of tea and biscuits that were passed around when the local ladies got together to discuss what had to be done to make their dream a reality.
Spurred on by an overwhelming desire to put back into the community, Mrs Graham's mum Theresia Seidler-Poli formed the committee of ladies in the early 1960s to lobby for a kinder. This group called itself the Lake Park Improvement Committee. Mrs Seidler-Poli was the natural choice to become president. The young mum had qualified as a kindergarten teacher before migrating from Austria in 1956 and once in Australia did a Bachelor of Education. At the time, the nearest kindergartens were in Coburg, Merlynston and Newlands - a long walk, especially for those mums pushing a pram.
The committee of six set about garnering support for a kindergarten and raising money to show the City of Coburg that they were serious. They baked cakes, held street stalls and dinner dances, went door-to-door and sold raffle tickets. After six months of meetings, gathering signatures and leg work, the City of Coburg allocated some land to the project - a former tip site - and promised to build the kindergarten.
Almost 50 years later, Lake Park Kindergarten stands as a tribute to Mrs Seidler-Poli and the dedicated locals who worked so hard to have it built.
"The mothers were really proud of what they had achieved," Mrs Seidler-Poli says. "I couldn't have done it on my own, that's for sure."
As part of the bargain, the committee had to fit out the kindergarten. But for Mrs Seidler-Poli, the real work was just beginning. She was appointed the kindergarten's first director when it opened in 1965, remaining at the helm for 21 years. In an amazing twist, Mrs Seidler-Poli was succeeded by her own daughter, Pat Graham. Between them, the pair ran the kinder for 42 years.
But both woman are adamant it was all a team effort - that community has always been the cornerstone of the kindergarten.
When the kindergarten finally opened in 1965, children made their way over the old wooden bridge and along the dirt road to get to the four-year-old sessions that were held every morning. Two afternoons a week there were sessions for three-year-olds. The kindergarten must have been sorely-needed, with every available spot filled from day one. The playground consisted of a concrete pipe set into the ground, a sandpit and a climbing frame made from old tractor tyres.
Mrs Seidler-Poli, now 83, went on to teach hundreds of pre-schoolers, including her own two grandsons and the sons of former kindergarten assistant Rose Marin. Thirty years later, the boys remain close friends, while Mrs Marin has been a long-time assistant at the kindergarten. Mrs Seidler-Poli says that teaching music was her favourite activity with the children and one to which they all responded.
But she loved story-telling and sport, as well as the regular excursions to her farm between Wallan and Kilmore, where the children got to take short rides on a horse. "I never had a better time in my life." The reward was being remembered so fondly by the children.
Mrs Seidler-Poli says she could hardly ever go into Coburg without someone recognising her. She had an amazing ability to uncover the children's strengths, only to have parents tell her years later how accurate she had been. "I always looked at each child as an individual and tried to get the best out of them." Mrs Seidler-Poli says the kindergarten was always a place where families were welcome. "It was a home away from home."
Despite having such a strong connection to Lake Park Kindergarten, Mrs Graham never intended to go from petition co-ordinator to pre-school teacher. That all changed when Mrs Seidler-Poli broke her leg in a car accident. "The doctor said 'I really don't think you are well enough to teach full-time anymore, but I don't think it would be a good idea for you to give up teaching because this is your passion'," Mrs Graham says.
"She threw her heart and soul into that place." And so Mrs Graham, who had been teaching in a primary school, ended up job-sharing with her mum. She took over full-time about 18 months later. For an accidental kindergarten teacher, she ended up staying for a long time. Mrs Graham says she "loved it to death". "I didn't think I could breathe without being in that place. Mum would say that to you too. It wasn't like going to work, it was like going to a different room in your house. "It's like an old family friend. I made some great friends while I was teaching down there."
And she has only fond memories of her time there.
She remembers a day in the 1980s when she noticed there were helicopters flying overhead and thought she should usher the children inside. Mrs Graham managed to hail down one of the police out the front of the kinder only to discover they were trying to catch a Pentridge Prison escapee who was thought to be lurking in the parkland at Coburg Lake, which was overgrown and fenced off in chain mesh.
Then there was the handsome young ex-pat who turned up at the kindergarten one day. He wanted to see if it was still the way he remembered – and if there were still frogs in the sandpit.
And there is the little girl who used to enthral Mrs Graham with all sorts of tall tales. Years later, a relative of the little girl told Mrs Graham: "She still talks about you and thinks you're the best teacher that she ever had."
"Every year there has always been one you think 'I could take that one home'."
Even the ongoing saga of the kinder's sinking floor brings back memories for Mrs Graham. Having been built on an old tip site, the floor would gradually sag over time. The kindergarten was restumped at least three times before the old timber floor was completely removed and screw piles were driven into the ground.
But one of Mrs Graham's favourite memories is of the kindergarten's centenary celebrations in 1988. Children came dressed as characters from Australia's history, they built a fire in the hole under the swing to cook damper, they made butter out of cream, danced and put on a concert for the parents. "It was absolutely phenomenal. It was one of the best days."
There were also countless Christmas plays, performed entirely by the children. "There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house," Mrs Graham recalls.
Mrs Graham believes that the kindergarten, born of community action, survives today because of the continued community commitment.
"Together the staff, families and children who have been involved with the kindergarten throughout its history have known what it is to feel connected, to have a sense of belonging and to have had the opportunity to learn, to grow, to enjoy and to become all the better for having been involved."
It is this community spirit, together with State Government funding and a cash injection from the Moreland Council, which helped fund a makeover for the kindergarten in 2012. Under the directorship of Jeanine Nigro – only the kinder’s fourth co-ordinator in 48 years – Lake Park secured new playground equipment, building upgrades, a bike track and shade sail.
BY SHELLEY HADFIELD
She fondly remembers all the cups of tea and biscuits that were passed around when the local ladies got together to discuss what had to be done to make their dream a reality.
Spurred on by an overwhelming desire to put back into the community, Mrs Graham's mum Theresia Seidler-Poli formed the committee of ladies in the early 1960s to lobby for a kinder. This group called itself the Lake Park Improvement Committee. Mrs Seidler-Poli was the natural choice to become president. The young mum had qualified as a kindergarten teacher before migrating from Austria in 1956 and once in Australia did a Bachelor of Education. At the time, the nearest kindergartens were in Coburg, Merlynston and Newlands - a long walk, especially for those mums pushing a pram.
The committee of six set about garnering support for a kindergarten and raising money to show the City of Coburg that they were serious. They baked cakes, held street stalls and dinner dances, went door-to-door and sold raffle tickets. After six months of meetings, gathering signatures and leg work, the City of Coburg allocated some land to the project - a former tip site - and promised to build the kindergarten.
Almost 50 years later, Lake Park Kindergarten stands as a tribute to Mrs Seidler-Poli and the dedicated locals who worked so hard to have it built.
"The mothers were really proud of what they had achieved," Mrs Seidler-Poli says. "I couldn't have done it on my own, that's for sure."
As part of the bargain, the committee had to fit out the kindergarten. But for Mrs Seidler-Poli, the real work was just beginning. She was appointed the kindergarten's first director when it opened in 1965, remaining at the helm for 21 years. In an amazing twist, Mrs Seidler-Poli was succeeded by her own daughter, Pat Graham. Between them, the pair ran the kinder for 42 years.
But both woman are adamant it was all a team effort - that community has always been the cornerstone of the kindergarten.
When the kindergarten finally opened in 1965, children made their way over the old wooden bridge and along the dirt road to get to the four-year-old sessions that were held every morning. Two afternoons a week there were sessions for three-year-olds. The kindergarten must have been sorely-needed, with every available spot filled from day one. The playground consisted of a concrete pipe set into the ground, a sandpit and a climbing frame made from old tractor tyres.
Mrs Seidler-Poli, now 83, went on to teach hundreds of pre-schoolers, including her own two grandsons and the sons of former kindergarten assistant Rose Marin. Thirty years later, the boys remain close friends, while Mrs Marin has been a long-time assistant at the kindergarten. Mrs Seidler-Poli says that teaching music was her favourite activity with the children and one to which they all responded.
But she loved story-telling and sport, as well as the regular excursions to her farm between Wallan and Kilmore, where the children got to take short rides on a horse. "I never had a better time in my life." The reward was being remembered so fondly by the children.
Mrs Seidler-Poli says she could hardly ever go into Coburg without someone recognising her. She had an amazing ability to uncover the children's strengths, only to have parents tell her years later how accurate she had been. "I always looked at each child as an individual and tried to get the best out of them." Mrs Seidler-Poli says the kindergarten was always a place where families were welcome. "It was a home away from home."
Despite having such a strong connection to Lake Park Kindergarten, Mrs Graham never intended to go from petition co-ordinator to pre-school teacher. That all changed when Mrs Seidler-Poli broke her leg in a car accident. "The doctor said 'I really don't think you are well enough to teach full-time anymore, but I don't think it would be a good idea for you to give up teaching because this is your passion'," Mrs Graham says.
"She threw her heart and soul into that place." And so Mrs Graham, who had been teaching in a primary school, ended up job-sharing with her mum. She took over full-time about 18 months later. For an accidental kindergarten teacher, she ended up staying for a long time. Mrs Graham says she "loved it to death". "I didn't think I could breathe without being in that place. Mum would say that to you too. It wasn't like going to work, it was like going to a different room in your house. "It's like an old family friend. I made some great friends while I was teaching down there."
And she has only fond memories of her time there.
She remembers a day in the 1980s when she noticed there were helicopters flying overhead and thought she should usher the children inside. Mrs Graham managed to hail down one of the police out the front of the kinder only to discover they were trying to catch a Pentridge Prison escapee who was thought to be lurking in the parkland at Coburg Lake, which was overgrown and fenced off in chain mesh.
Then there was the handsome young ex-pat who turned up at the kindergarten one day. He wanted to see if it was still the way he remembered – and if there were still frogs in the sandpit.
And there is the little girl who used to enthral Mrs Graham with all sorts of tall tales. Years later, a relative of the little girl told Mrs Graham: "She still talks about you and thinks you're the best teacher that she ever had."
"Every year there has always been one you think 'I could take that one home'."
Even the ongoing saga of the kinder's sinking floor brings back memories for Mrs Graham. Having been built on an old tip site, the floor would gradually sag over time. The kindergarten was restumped at least three times before the old timber floor was completely removed and screw piles were driven into the ground.
But one of Mrs Graham's favourite memories is of the kindergarten's centenary celebrations in 1988. Children came dressed as characters from Australia's history, they built a fire in the hole under the swing to cook damper, they made butter out of cream, danced and put on a concert for the parents. "It was absolutely phenomenal. It was one of the best days."
There were also countless Christmas plays, performed entirely by the children. "There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house," Mrs Graham recalls.
Mrs Graham believes that the kindergarten, born of community action, survives today because of the continued community commitment.
"Together the staff, families and children who have been involved with the kindergarten throughout its history have known what it is to feel connected, to have a sense of belonging and to have had the opportunity to learn, to grow, to enjoy and to become all the better for having been involved."
It is this community spirit, together with State Government funding and a cash injection from the Moreland Council, which helped fund a makeover for the kindergarten in 2012. Under the directorship of Jeanine Nigro – only the kinder’s fourth co-ordinator in 48 years – Lake Park secured new playground equipment, building upgrades, a bike track and shade sail.
BY SHELLEY HADFIELD
