News

Kensington Neighbourhood House staff were thrilled to receive a visit from local resident Edith Coffey recently. Edith was part of the Kensington Women’s Group who founded the neighbourhood house 50 years ago. Now 92, Edith still lives in Kensington, as do many of her family members. Edith was very happy to see the neighbourhood house still thriving. She remembers how hard it was in the early days to work with the State government to get funding. She also has fond memories of

Kensington Neighbourhood House is many things to many people. For some, it is their exercise hub. For others, it’s where they get help with homework. Some visit to dig holes in the sandpit. Others attend English or Computer classes. And on any given day, people of all ages will be visiting the house to draw, paint, sing or dance. When life feels uncertain, creating is one of the ways we humans find balance. Creativity acts as a powerful tool for enhancing mental health. It re

On Friday the 14 th November 2025, Kensington Neigbourhood House celebrated half a century of continuous community support. Over 200 people of all ages gathered to share stories, eat great food, create art, dance, sing and celebrate the history of this very special place. It is impossible to put into words the warmth, friendliness and joy of the night. There was a real sense of honouring our history while also looking forward to our future. Ellen Sandell MP set the scene by

Most of us have collections of old photos and document stored away, awaiting the time we will finally get our act together to scan and preserve them. Kensington Neighbourhood House is no different. However, our collection is a lot bigger than the average household’s and spans half a century. With the help of a Local History Grant (thank you Public Records Office of Victoria) we engaged Dr Jill Barnard – local historian extraordinaire – to sort out our very chaotic archives. J

Sometimes it seems that every second house in our neighbourhood has a builder’s sign on the front fence. Tradies vie for space on narrow streets and down laneways as the cottages of Kensington are steadily renovated and extended to meet the changing needs of their occupants. In May 2025, Kensington Neighbourhood House joined the renovation bandwagon, starting much needed work on our downstairs bathroom and back deck. Kensington Neighbourhood House was extended upwards in 1992

One of the great things about working within a community is that for every problem identified, community members can nearly always come...

All across Victoria you’ll find neighbourhood houses and community centres that are also “Learn Locals”. It’s a little known term to...

Do you know who “owns” Kensington Neighbourhood House? Out of curiosity, we asked this question in our recent participant survey. Nearly...

Inside an unassuming church on McCracken Street, something magic is happening. Guitarist, Jeff Mifsud gives an acknowledgement of country...

Specifically, let’s talk about the McCracken Street Food Share Pantry and the little “urban myth” that has developed around it. Every few...