The Cubbies

To be published on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Cubbies

This is the rollicking tale of Australia’s first true adventure playground, when children were allowed to use a patch of public land as their own backyard, to play in freely as they wished, not as adults directed them. They chased their dreams and escaped their everyday lives by scavenging materials, building cubbies, experimenting with fires and gardens, launching boats and never giving up their conniving efforts to keep pets.

It’s also a slice of life in the exciting Whitlam days of the ’70s, when change was in the air, hope sparkled and Fitzroy, in the heart of Melbourne, was emerging from run-down shabbiness into a hip neighbourhood.

The Cubbies is told through personal experience and observations by Joan Healey, who brought the idea for the playground to Fitzroy from London and lived through the adventures of its early days, while confronting ‘those who know best’ who tried to stop it from happening. It’s a tale of battles with local police and the Catholic church, but also shows visionary politicians and bureaucrats on both sides supporting children in this venture, while others made devious attempts to close the place. Playground workers, struggling with on and off funding, steadfastly continued to support children in their right to play freely, while becoming entangled in defending the cubbies. After trials, tribulations and questionable adventures, it became Australia’s first true adventure playground, inspiring the rise of others in the country.

Throughout it all, the children thrived.

Today, in our risk-aversion time of bureaucracy, rules and regulations, the now-unimaginable story of the Cubbies is a reminder of just what kids can do when trusted, supported and given the freedom to follow their dreams, and the fun they can have along the way.