Early Kindergarten In Perth...(1911).
So what was childcare like in the early years of the Western Australian colony for women and men who had families with young children and had to work or attend appointments and did not have appropriate support ?
By 1911 a kindergarten was established in Pier Street, Perth for babies and children to age six years. The kindergarten operated in the Children's Protection Society's Rooms from seven in the morning until seven at night caring and feeding children of the families that needed assistance. During 1911, there were over 3000 attendances at the centre.
The early kindergarten movement recognised the importance of the holistic development of children in the early years. The centre also recognised and encouraged parents or carers to spend time there interacting with their children.
In 1911 the Western Mail and West Australian newspapers wrote the following articles about the importance of kindergarten and early childhood philosophy and published photographs following the visit of "Miss de Lissa, principal of the Kindergarten Training College, Adelaide, and head of the free kindergarten movement there, to spend a month's holiday in Perth and show what could be done in the day nursery by adopting the kindergarten principles and methods." (Western Mail, 1911).
The article and photographs are from Trove, the database at the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement.
Western Mail, 2 September 1911.
THE KINDERGARTEN MOVEMENT AT THE CHILDREN'S PROTECTION SOCIETY'S ROOMS IN PIER STREET.
A KINDERGARTEN FOR PERTH.
(See Illustrated Section.)
One of the most active but unobtrusive organisations in Perth is the Children's Protection Society, which among other things carries on a creche or day nursery in Pier street, Perth where mothers who have to go out and earn a living for the family are able to take their little ones from seven in the morning until seven in the evening, knowing that they will be fed and well cared for during the day.
The committee are entrusted with the working of the Society find that this day nursery is one of the most important branches of their work, for during 12 months there were considerable over 3,000 attendances at the nursery, the number varying from day to day.
The children cared for vary in age from mere babies up to about six years of age, and the committee feel that it is not sufficient to merely mind the children. It is essential that healthy children should be actively occupied.
In Paris this work has for over a quarter of a century been in the hands of the municipality, which has established in the various districts of the city maternal schools where the children are clothed and fed as is done at our day nursery, and also train them in a manner very similar to a kindergarten. Several members of the Perth committee after visiting the Eastern States and seeing the splendid work being done in the free kindergartens of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, realised that the kindergarten is the very thing required to enable them to attain the object so dear to them. The kindergarten means the child-garden. lt does not mean a school in the ordinary sense at all. It does not mean merely teaching children to fold paper, work with coloured cotton, and such like.
What it does mean is wholesome, complete child development. First the physical nature of the child is cared for, because the first essential is health and physical development; but complete education demands that there should be a sound mind in a sound body, and therefore the moral and intellectual welfare of tits children is carefully looked after.
The motive at the back of the free kindergarten is that the formation of a child's nature is much better as well as cheaper than reformation of a defective character and bad habits. In order to demonstrate to the people of Western Australia the merits of the kindergarten, the committee arranged for Miss de Lissa, principal of the Kindergarten Training College, Adelaide, and head of the free kindergarten movement there, to spend a month's holiday in Perth and show what could be done in the day nursery by adopting the kindergarten principles and methods. Her success has been a surprise even to those who have seen what has been done in other places, because they have been able to see the beginning of the training and to note the very rapid development of the children under her care.
The kindergartener rules by love. The kindergarten is a little world in which the children under the loving care of the kindergartener are made to train themselves in habits of gen-tleness, usefulness, and forbearance. It has been simply astonishing to see how quickly the little ones under Miss de Lissas care dropped their boisterous ways and began to talk softly, to move quietly, and act gently.
It is quite impossible to give anyone who has not seen the work a correct idea of what a kindergarten means. That is why the committee determined to have a demonstration. For next Monday they have arranged for a public meeting, at which Miss de Lissa and others will explain something of the scope of kindergarten work, but what the committee most desire is that the people shall see the work itself.
Every day a considerable number of ladies and gentlemen attend, sometimes coming for a few minutes and often staying for half an hour, an hour, or even more. One of the remarkable things in connection with kindergarten is that the children become so interested and are under such gentle control that they appear to take no notice whatever of the people who are looking on.
The name kindergarten, or child-garden, was adopted by Froebel, the founder of the system, because he wished the kindergarten to be a place where the development of child nature would be as natural and harmonious as the growth of plants in a garden. He looked upon the desirable qualities of child life as the flowers to be cultivated in a garden while the wrong tendencies are to be suppressed like weeds. A gardener cannot prevent weeds springing up, but he does not allow them to grow and choke his tender plants, so he removes them before they have become injurious, and he seeks by providing favourable conditions, cultivation, and nourishment to enable them to grow strong and smother their objectionable enemies.
This is what the kindergartener endeavours to do with the wrong tendencies of child nature, and only those who have seen the work realise to what an extent the object is accomplished The kindergartener keeps the children occupied with things that are pleasant and good. This applies to both body and mind.
The body is exercised by suitable healthy play, and the minds of the little ones are equally kept from wrong tendencies by industry, pleasing thoughts, and suitable intelligent exercise. All those who have the opportunity are invited to attend the day nursery, or the more public demonstrations which will take place in the Town Hall next week, and for themselves obtain a more correct insight into the methods and objects of the kindergarten.
In the illustrated pages several photographs of the children at their morning lunch and at their games are reproduced.
