item details
Overview
This signboard advertises a nursery play centre, which is a locally-run early childhood organisation. The first playcentre was established in Wellington in 1941, and came out of a conversation between friends about the difficulties of motherhood, particularly when so many of their husbands were away at war. The group established a roster system whereby each mother would take a turn caring for and educating the children at a community hall or other shared space. The idea quickly gained popularity, and by 1943 there were 18 play centres in Wellington, Palmerston North and Canterbury. In 1948 the New Zealand Play Centre Federation was formed, and today it oversees more than 500 playcentres all over the country.
From the outset, parent educators were encouraged to attend child-development courses and lectures in order to better direct their children’s learning. This provision of education, as well as the sense of community that came from being involved in a playcentre, gave many women a new outlook and new opportunities. It was, in the words of one journalist, 'a quiet, practical incarnation of feminine strength' (Chamberlin 2012). This hand-painted poster demonstrates the grass-roots nature of the playcentre movement, while the admonishment to mothers indicates that the majority of the organisers and volunteers were women.
References
- Chamberlin, Stephanie. 2012. 'Learning to Play.' New Zealand Geographic 118 (Nov-Dec). https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/learning-to-play/
- Kiwi Families. 'Playcentre.' https://www.kiwifamilies.co.nz/articles/playcentre/
- Playcentre. 'About Us, History.' https://www.playcentre.org.nz/about/history/
- Pollock, Kerryn. 2012. 'Early childhood education and care - Government support, 1940s to 1970s.' Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/early-childhood-education-and-care/page-2