History

Present Day Milford...
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34 years ago, Margaretha dreamt of opening a place for children that was homely and loving in a way she felt was important for the care of young children.
Alongside husband and builder Frank Prendergast, and with an amazing vision and a phenomenal amount of hard work, Milford Lodge was created in October 1986, five years after they purchased the old house. Being the first privately owned service on the Sunshine Coast, Milford Lodge attracted a red ribbon opening from the Minister for Health.
Not only was Milford Lodge a home, it was also a farm. Children collected eggs from the chicken coop to use in baking. Margaretha offered children daily pony rides.
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Over the next few decades, our home grew, with Frank building smaller cottages and rooms, and Margaretha enhancing these with her amazing skill set of sewing, painting, gardening and timeless interior designs. Through the 90s, with an overflowing wait list, Frank & Margaretha built another service (now Toral Lodge) and also renovated another old Queenslander (now Art Nuvo) where they offered care for babies and toddlers. All of these services provided children with beautiful outdoor spaces, amazing play equipment, beautiful homely rooms and the wonderful smell of home baked morning tea. It was during this time that early childhood became the focus for money making businessmen, as well as a target for the push down of formal learning. Small 'custom built' centres began popping up all over the Sunshine Coast, and we headed into the 'plastic fantastic' era, where concrete jungles with minimal space requirements were somehow passed as places for children. Milford Lodge began to receive non-compliance letters. Our play equipment, where children learnt to challenge themselves, risk asses, and develop their muscles, began to be deemed 'unsafe'. Our ponies, which had given pony rides for 20 years, were no longer allowed. Our chickens, that children fed, and collected eggs from, were 'unhygienic'. After a decade of destruction, Margaretha almost shut the doors for the last time in the mid 00s when she was informed that she would need to remove the grass, due to it being 'dirty'. Thankfully, in 2012, the Early Childhood Industry in Australia began to turn around. The Early Years Learning Framework was introduced. Our regulations were changed. There was a strong emphasis on children. Children connecting with nature. Children being capable. Children having freedom to play. 
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Milford Lodge is now operated by Frank & Margaretha's daughter, Molly, along with her husband Justin and young family, who are continuing on with this dream. Whilst early childhood 'trends' have come and gone, many causing the heart breaking removal of experiences we held dear, we have stood firm on our beliefs for children and families and we believe that Milford Lodge has stood the test of time. Thank you to all who have supported our unique and original service. 
After the huge changes that 2012 presented, we commenced on a journey  affectionately called    ''Bringing Back the Magic" to rediscover Milford Lodge in a new light. For 3½ years we slowly reintroduced experiences that had been removed. We reintroduced outings in 2012, which are now a daily  experience for all ages. Our animals began to return soon after, with guinea pigs and a bird aviary, then our chickens - and finally pony rides, which had been a daily experience for twenty years. Rooms are no longer confined by age, and our children are offered the opportunity to play with their siblings, cousins and friends throughout the entire day. This provides children with the opportunity to build strong relationships and minimises separation anxiety.
We have rebuilt play equipment which is challenging and fun.
​Our team are inspired and eagerly participate in opportunities outside of Milford Lodge, and now regularly help host events for others to come and be inspired at our service.
In mid 2015 we finally received notification of the Assessment and Rating Process. We received a staggering 7 out of 7 EXCEEDING National Quality Standards.  As a service that is rated Exceeding, we were then eligible to apply for the "Excellent" rating through ACECQA (Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority). This rating is not handed out lightly. There are currently less than 50 services across Australia (includes all Long Day Care, Kindergarten, Family Day Care & Outside of School Hours Care) who have been awarded the Excellent rating, and we are proud to say that we are one of them.

 Distinctively Milford...

Milford Lodge is very unique in many ways. To read more about some of the experiences we consider important to us click on the buttons below:

​Avocado Cottage 

School House

Wandiny

Art Shed

The Library