Agent TypeOrganisationActivities & OccupationsKindergartensHistoryElspeth Bennett (nee Wardill) was born in South Yarra in 1912; her mother was a bookbinder who formed the Arts and Crafts Society of NSW; her father was Dick Wardill, captain of Melbourne Football Club and timber importer. Elspeth was educated at St Leonard's College and Emily Macpherson College of Domestic Science before doing a three-year course in kindergarten teaching at Melbourne Teachers College. After graduating in 1934 Elspeth established the Duncraggan Open Air Kindergarten at her family home at 13 Dudley Street, Brighton. Elspeth's pedagogical philosophy emphasized outdoor play, dancing, music and drama. In 1937, with Duncraggan now well established, she spent a year working and visiting kinders in the UK and Sweden. On her return she formed a parents' group and arranged for speakers to discuss children's literature, child psychology and similar topics. In 1943 Duncraggan was deregistered but Elspeth continued to work in early childhood development until 1962. She died in 2000.
![[2007.0048] Records of the Duncraggan Open Air Kindergarten](/img/placeholder.gif?1773784847 "[2007.0048] Records of the Duncraggan Open Air Kindergarten")