Local artist Eryn Marshall painted the cubbyhouse. Photos: The Property Collective.
Nestled in the shared backyard of two homes sits one of the Territory’s most important cubbyhouses.
Masterfully manufactured and resplendent in colourful artwork, this cubby is part of Beryl Women Inc‘s humble property portfolio.
The longest-running women’s refuge in Australia, Beryl provides supported crisis accommodation for women and their children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness as a result of domestic and/or family violence.
Last month it became the beneficiary of a charity initiative by local real estate company The Property Collective.
It is the second time The Property Collective has run its cubbyhouse initiative, following the success of its first cubby, which fetched $11,000 at auction at Floriade last year.
As Floriade sponsors, the proceeds of that cubby were split between the event’s two charity partners, Raw Potential and SEE-Change, and the cubby itself was donated to local not-for-profit Karinya House.
This year, as last year, The Property Collective called on its business partners Goodwin Home Loans, Bronte Group, Terracon Legal, Glav Corp, Link Capital Partners, Patorama Studios, Harrington Hall, Region Media and M&M Perfection Cleaning to pledge $1000 towards creating the cubby.
The cubby was donated to Beryl Women Inc supported crisis accommodation for women and their children escaping domestic and/or family violence.
This year’s cubby fetched a whopping $13,700 that was again split between Floriade 2023’s charity partners, Indigenous Marathon Foundation and Roundabout CBR.
It has since been relocated to its permanent home, a feat that in itself was quite the spectacle, according to Beryl Women Inc women and children domestic violence support worker, Rachel McMenamin.
“It was lowered into the back garden by crane, which was very exciting. Some people even woke up early to film it,” she says.
“Two of our other properties already had cubbyhouses, this was one of the only ones that didn’t have one. So to receive it for the children to use is wonderful, and we’re very grateful.”
The cubby does much the same job as any other cubby, providing a space for the children to play and let their imaginations run wild. But it has a higher purpose.
“For the women and children coming to our service, it can be unnerving to enter a new place,” Rachel says.
”Often they’ve suffered trauma and it takes time for them to feel safe in any setting. When a place is homely and has inviting elements like a cubbyhouse, it can help ease the transition.
“It’s important to give all children a safe space where they feel free to express themselves. Often an enclosed area like a cubbyhouse provides that sense of security.
“It’s the perfect setting for play-based therapy as well … there have been times when children’s workers have spent time with children in their cubbyhouse and done therapeutic work in that sort of setting.”
Built and installed by Canberra business ACT Property Maintenance & Fencing, which supplied the materials at cost and donated the labour, the cubbyhouse was brought to life with a Canberra-inspired mural by local artist Eryn Marshall Artistry.
Rachel says it’s a structure that would hold up to master builder standards for cubbies.
“It’s quite spectacular: big, colourful, beautifully made and built to last, which is particularly important for this cubbyhouse,” Rachel says.
“We have so many families in crisis who stay with us. Sometimes it’s short term, sometimes it’s longer term. A great number of children will benefit from this cubby.
”In that sense, this is no ordinary cubby – it’ll host generations of women and children residing at those properties.”
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