Our Early Beginnings

The Kulungah-Myah Family Centre Inc. now trading as Kulungah Myah Community Centre, (KMCC) has been an integral and dynamic part of the Kardinya community for 31 years.

The Service had its beginnings in 1990 when the City of Melville made available the land at 136 Le Souef Drive, Kardinya.  The State Government funded the building of the Centre itself, which featured a main office, full kitchen, two meeting rooms and two large multi-purpose spaces with fenced outdoor play areas.    On the 23rd of May 1990, the first meeting was held to establish an interim Committee to organise the service.  KMCC received a number of significant grants, these included a pre-operational grant from the Department of Communities, a Lotteries Commissions Grant and an Administration grant from the Family Foundation.

Importantly, KMCC was built to operate a kindergarten program funded by Family and Children’s Services.    On the 22nd February 1991, KMCC was licensed to conduct a Child Care Service.  A few days later, on the 25th February, a 4 year old kindergarten program opened for the first time.  The Kulungah Myah Kindergarten was an immediate success, attracting many local families who had established homes in the new and growing suburbs surrounding it.

On the 20th November 1992, the Kulungah Myah Family Centre meaning “Children’s Meeting place” became incorporated.

The kindy service continued successfully until its closure at the end of 1998, when Family and Children’s Services stopped its funding to kindergarten programs.

In 1999, Kardinya Primary School used KMCC to run their 4 year old Kindergarten program until they could accommodate them on their school grounds.  In mid-2000, the centre welcomed First Steps Independent Kindy; a new private kindergarten owned and operated by Nichola Jennings and Nicky Thomson, both early years teachers from Kardinya Primary School.  First Steps was very successful and operated from KMCC for 17 years, before closing at the end of 2016.   In the following year, a pre-school program for 3 year olds was established by Claire Wylie (owner) and her staff; named First Steps Pre-Kindy.

 

The Centre Grows

Since its inception, KMCC was a very attractive base for a number of local groups, including the Kardinya Toy Library.    The toy library had an official opening day on Saturday 7th September 1991.  The toy library grew steadily, and soon became so popular that it organised a waiting list of potential member families.  The toy library remains operational, and in 2021 celebrated its 30 year anniversary.

KMCC evolved to not only meet the needs of children and families, but also seniors and people with disabilities in the local and wider community.  The Kulungah Myah Seniors Club formed in 1998 with only 6 members.  It has now been running for the past 25 years, with up to 40 members coming along each week for games and activities.  For many years, Enrich Living (formally St Ives Care) operated their Day Centre Program from KMCC.   They provided lunches, craft activities, games and exercise for their clients experiencing the early stages of dementia.

A number of other special interests groups have also used the space with regularity.  The Southern Suburbs branch of the Cake Decorators Association were also one of the first groups to use KMCC on a weekly basis.   Other long term and current users of KMCC, include the Nihongo Youchien Playgroup, Melville Spiritualist Church, Faith Bible Church, GKI Perth, Perth Youth Film Academy, & Bricks4Kidz.   Other activities at KMCC for adults and children include art and craft activities, exercise groups, and children’s drama and music.

An important driver of KMCC’s success has been Program Manager, Rose Alden, who has been with the service since January 1998.   With the support of an active Board of Governance, Rose has used her skills and expertise to ensure the service remains relevant, dynamic and accessible to develop a strong network with other neighbourhood centres across Perth, and strong relationships with key local agencies.

In 2021, Kulungah Myah Family Centre adopted the trading name of Kulungah Myah Community Centre to better capture its outward community focus, and its inclusive approach to service provision.  In 2022, this name change came with a new logo, a new website, as well as new Board appointments to embrace youth and young adult representation.    New partnerships were developed with local high schools, and universities, social initiatives with Give Write, FairGame and Perth Wholesale Textile Recyclers were introduced, and an internship and volunteer program developed.  We now have an expanded program of activities catering to all segments of our community.  The Centre has in the past year begun to cater to a growing demographic – home-schooling families.

On 26th November 2022, KMCC celebrated 30 amazing years of service, with a wonderful celebration.  This is an outstanding achievement for a volunteer, community managed service.   It is testimony to the dedicated hard work of all of our Board, staff, user groups and community stakeholders.

In 2024 the staff team expanded to include Monica Smith, as as Community Engagement Officer who is successfully spearheading our grant funding acquisition.

Our focus in 2024-2025 is to:

  • enhance our service provision to vulnerable youth
  • leverage partnerships to introduce service innovations, and address unmet community needs
  • raise digital literacy levels in our community.

Downloads

KMFC Constitution 2022

KMFC Strategic Plan 2022-2023