Ponsonby Kindergarten recently celebrated (26 February) its 100 year birthday with a community afternoon tea.
Special guests included Leader of the Green Party and Central Auckland MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, Chairperson of Waitamata Local Board Alexandra Bonham, former government Minister and Ponsonby resident Hon Judith Tizard, tamariki, whānau, former teachers and pupils, and Auckland Kindergarten Association Board Director and Auckland Councillor John Gillon, CEO Pauline Winter AKA Life Members Sue Coleman and Robin Houlker; and AKA support staff.
Ponsonby Kindergarten opened on 1st February 1926 at All Saints Church Hall. It was the sixth kindergarten to be opened by the Auckland Kindergarten Association, and was established with £150 donated by other kindergartens. It moved to 22 Ponsonby Terrace at the end of 1937. The kindergarten has some of the original wooden chairs that are still used every day.
The celebration was about remembering the past and looking forward to the next 100 years. Special guests spoke about the history of our kindergarten and its importance to the community.
Life Member Robin Houlker said: “We stand for a garden of learning for every child, Te Māra Mātauranga. kinder – garten – the garden of the child. And that implies imagination, curiosity, creativity, engaging children at play!” She talked about the need to retain fully qualified teachers as the best way to maintain quality early learning and that every suburb in Auckland has had a community kindergarten.
“This milestone represents many generations of children and their families. There is a wonderful continuity of qualifed teachers, which is also a fantastic ‘herstory’ of women entering the profession and ensuring women were recognized for their skills. It also represents 100 years of stability in the neighbourhools – where some providers have come and gone, we have been consistently present for children, parents and whānau.”
Mrs Houlker talked about some of the battles over the years to keep Ponsonby Kindergarten open, including requests to government and the Council for help. Its earlier sites included “a hall, a room in the school, a Nissen hut, the basement of the Council Hall, and at times it was hardly fit for purpose,” she said. In the 1970s, the floors had to be replaced because they’d been sanded so many times that it was not possible to sand them again, and the building had to be rewired due to the condition of the electrical system. Luckily major renovations have taken place since then.
She launched a new Donate to Kindergarten initiative at the Ponsonby Kindergarten celebration:
“It’s a campaign for the AKA to alert the community that we are not-for-profit, underfunded and we humbly ask for your help – so we can still be here when the kindergarten turns 200. Long ago we identified that another pillar the AKA stands on is access for all children – not just for those who can afford it – this is equity in action. And our kindergartens need help to make sure this happens.”
A family member made the 100-years celebration cake decorated in AKA colours. It was cut by Rosemary Martin, a former teacher Head Teacher for 22 years, along with Max and Rafi who helped make it.
The community shared many stories and photos of the past. The tamariki loved the story about Polly Perkins, a galah. Miss Winstone, a student teacher in the 1930s, told the story: "At Ponsonby Kindergarten we had a pink and grey parrot called Polly Perkins. It was Miss Court's family parrot and lived at the kindergarten. If she wanted to pull a fast one on us or to trick us, she would screech and pull at the latch of the door and get out and she'd fly up to the tram terminal on Ponsonby Road and fly up onto the top of the trams and there she'd be! She caused the trams to be delayed."
Ngā Tamariki Puāwai o Tāmaki | Auckland Kindergarten Association (AKA) was established in 1908 and has 108 kindergartens and 4 centres across Auckland.
AKA is a not-for-profit charitable organisation.
