Carol Eggleston, former CWFKA President, explains how central these community groups were in setting up kindergarten.

“The advantage that kindergarten had in the early days was that it was just about in every suburb because there’d be this group of dedicated people who’d want a kindergarten. So they’d get together and they’d get this Establishment Committee and they drove this fundraising and worked with the Association.”

The photo below shows the dedicated group of ladies whose work resulted in the Hokitika Kindergarten. It’s their sense of community and active work ethic that we have seen coming out of Hokitika for the last fifty years. In 2011 when the Association enjoyed its 100th birthday, Hokitika was keen to celebrate with 100 balloons tied up to the kindergarten fence. 

Head Teacher Ceridwyn Dimmick said they emphasised the centenary because it was a one-off occurrence in the children’s lifetime. 

“100 years is such a milestone so in staging these activities we’re teaching the children 100 is a big number and that it is important to celebrate special occasions.”