Our story

Built in 1981, The Venny was the third adventure playground to be built in Melbourne. Our original house, a simple weatherboard building located on Kensington Road, served us well for close to 28 years.

In 2010, a new purpose-built “house,” funded by the City of Melbourne, offered improved facilities and environmental features. Beneath each step, the floor—beautifully inlaid with photos and images from the original building—quietly tells the stories of the children who once filled the space, honouring their laughter, their lives, and the memories that continue to linger.

The playground has always been a changing beast—structures rise and fall, and the trampolines once surrounded by hay bales now lie hidden within grassy mounds. Nothing at The Venny is ever meant to be permanent. Co-designed with children and brought to life by staff and volunteers, the playground is both a sanctuary and an urban oasis.

The Venny provides children and young people with a place of their own. A safe place where risky play is embraced. A place where kids can be kids.

The Fitzroy Adventure Playground, affectionately known as The Cubbies, was the first adventure playground built in Melbourne. It was 1974, and founder Joan Healey had just returned to Australia from London, where she’d been working at an adventure playground.

Located next door to the Atherton Gardens housing estate in Fitzroy, The Cubbies was only meant to be a six-week project. It quickly became a magnet for local children. They built cubby houses, experimented with fire, and smuggled in pets (pigeons, rabbits, guinea pigs, chooks and a sheep called Lamp Chop). There was no way this place was going to close after six weeks.

Fifty years later, The Cubbies is still standing – a testament to the community and its determination to hold onto what matters.

The Venny now manages and operates The Cubbies, staying true to the principles it was founded on. It’s a place that belongs to children. A place where they can direct their own play. A place that offers freedom, fosters creativity, and lets kids be kids.

And now, The Venny is bringing cubby building back to The Cubbies.

The Venny To You is a converted ambulance stocked full of carefully curated loose parts which provides endless possibilities for play.

It was developed in response to the hard lockdown of nine public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington during COVID. We wanted to give children back their freedom to play outdoors, to take up space, reclaim their power and sense of belonging, all the while creating their own happiness through play.

We have ramps, crash mats, old car tyres, buckets, balls, ropes, hula hoops, planks, poles, clamps, tools, sand, fabric, blankets, chalk, a hose, bikes and helmets, board games, cards, paper, paints, bubble mixture, and more, along with other pieces of junk perfect for creative and imaginative play and construction. Children are free to choose their own activities and lead their own play.

The Venny To You relies on grant and philanthropic funding to continue delivering its weekly sessions. When funding runs out we are forced to pause this program pending further funding.

The Venny To You is available to hire for community events and school incursions.