Town fights back
Camel races help small town recover after gas boom
THE Wandoan Kindergarten has become an invaluable source to the community.
Established in the 1970s by a group of local mums, it has evolved over time to become a recognised C&K Kindergarten.
But the boom of the gas industry in the region has put the daycare centre under threat.
Determined to keep the facility thriving, the group will host the popular Wandoan Camel Races this year to raise funds.
Wandoan Kindergarten president Jessica Brosnan said it was parents’ only access to childcare and an education facility in their community.
“They would have to travel 70km either way to get to another kindy,” she said.
“A lot of families already travel a distance to come to our kindergarten.
“We have six children at the moment. In the past we’ve had classes up to 20.
“Our enrolments have halved over the past two years.”
Ms Brosnan said the downturn was caused by a gas boom and the development of a nearby mine.
“Because there was an influx of workers the rent prices went up and all local houses went to the workers,” she said.
“A lot of people couldn’t afford to live in the town any more, so we lost a lot of people because of that.
“We have a mining company that is starting very close to town, they’ve bought up a lot of the farm land around the town. So we’ve actually lost a lot of families who were on their properties.
“People have had to sell their land to the mining companies and move and haven’t been able to stay in Wandoan. And a lot of people have moved because the rent prices have gone up so much.
“There have been a lot of single people moving to town because of the boom and not a lot of families.”
Despite the change in numbers, costs for running the kindergarten remain about the same.
“Our insurance costs stay the same and our affiliation fees stay the same,” Ms Brosnan said.
“We get 40 per cent funding from the government because we’re an approved kindergarten. But the other 60 per cent we have to make ourselves.
“We probably have to fundraise about 30 per cent of our operating costs because our numbers have gone down so much.”
Ms Brosnan said a change in legislation had also lead to costs going up. “This year the legislation has changed to say if we want to keep our funding to be recognised as an approved kindy we have to have a qualified early childhood teacher,” she said.
“So our costs have gone up because of that. Before that we had someone who had a certificate IV and was working towards their early childhood teaching degree.
“We only run a five-day fortnight, so trying to attract someone to work that is a struggle as well.”
The Wandoan Camel Races is a popular event that is used to fundraise for different causes in the community.
This year will be the event’s fourth year and will be raising funds for the Wandoan Kindergarten.
“The school and the kindergarten have fundraised together in the past but this
❝have There been a lot of single people moving to town because of the boom and not a lot of families. — Jessica Brosnan
year we decided to put all our eggs in one basket and hold one big fundraiser and see if we raise a decent amount of cash,” Ms Brosnan said.
“It’s a really popular thing. I think part of it is that the jockeys on the day are not actually jockeys, they’re people that nominate themselves. They have to have horse riding experience and be within a certain weight range. We select 25 jockeys out of the nominations.
“And, of course, camels are something pretty unique.”
The event consists of six races, with five heats and the winner of each heat progressing to the final.
There will also be a number of other activities for children and adults.
Ms Brosnan said she was
hoping this would be their major fundraiser this year.
“With only six students, the traditional fundraisers such as selling chocolates don’t really work,” she said.
“Because it’s a communityrun kindy we have to do our working bees and management meetings.
“So if we have to do too many fundraisers it sort of becomes too big of an expectation.”
The kindergarten has a very small staffing.
“We have a fully qualified teacher and trainee teaching assistant,” Ms Brosnan said.
“Then we have a voluntary management committee. They’re elected every year and they’re parents. It can change every year who runs the kindergarten.”