News & Articles
A Buchan good week!
Another amazing group of children from the regions impacted by bushfire in the summer 2019/20. The town of Buchan, located inland East Gippsland, is very small with just over 20 students at the local primary school. On the long journey from Buchan to Queenscliff the children were bursting with excitement and enthusiasm. They had plenty […]
2022 Summer Newsletter
Through another challenging year, we are delighted that we could mobilise quickly to host children on site at every opportunity. When it was not safe to hold camps, our innovative team implemented ‘off-site day camps’ which took Cottage programs to the children.
Boats, boats and more boats!
It is always a special week here at Cottage by the Sea when we welcome schools from the regions devastated by Black Summer bushfires. This week was no different and we had plenty of special activities on the program. Each day we had a group out on the beautiful Port Phillip Bay, our first boat […]
Our first camp in forever!
Written for us by one of the children. This week we were so excited to be going on camp to Cottage by the Sea, we couldn’t wait to get out of school and Bendigo as it felt like our first camp in forever! The big bus arrived at school and we jumped on full of […]
Why donate to a charity?
Ever thought you would like to donate to a charity? You are wondering which is the best charity to donate to. Why am I donating to charity? Who benefits What’s in it for me? And … How do I donate to a charity? Let’s start with ‘Why?’ Many people choose a charity they can relate […]
2021 Annual Report
Welcome to our Annual Report for the Financial Year ended June 30, 2021. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of the Cottage over the past year. Over the coming year we have plans in place to address the additional need for Cottage programs. Looking forward, we will continue to create more […]
131st Annual General Meeting – rescheduled
Due to unprecedented storms on Friday 29th October, our 131st Annual General Meeting was postponed. The Cottage by the Sea Board of Directors now invites you to attend our rescheduled 131st Annual General Meeting. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up so many challenges to the way we provide services to children. With each new hurdle, our […]
Boy eats carrot
It’s all the little things that can change how a child grows. We currently have a young boy on camp who has not eaten a fruit or vegetable in an extremely long time. Mum had placed a warning on his enrolment form, to let us know that he would probably live off bread or toast […]
Pushing The Limits!
It was the second day of our sports themed camp and we were ready for a big day full of physical activities! We smashed down some breakfast, cleaned up the dishes and packed our bags ready to go do some water aerobics at Leisure link swimming centre. Evan was keen to get a good workout […]
Fun at Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary!
Jirrahlinga is such a special place in our community, they help injured and abandoned wildlife become healthy and release them back into the wild. As well as being an animal hospital, they also have a sanctuary full of Australian wildlife. Our camp group from the Western English Language School (WELS) are mostly all new arrivals […]
Farmer Phil’s Farm
This week we focused on one of our E’s in REEF* – ‘Environment’. We participated in something a little different to what our REEFies are used to. We spent the afternoon with Farmer Phil on his farm in Freshwater Creek to learn how he lives using the environment. Phil drove us around his farm on […]
Mullet Mayhem
This week on camp we welcomed children from a rural primary school just out of Bendigo. Along with the rural schools comes plenty of alternative hairstyles. The most popular this week being the infamous mullet. Mullets are well and truly back! Watching AFL, every team has at least four players with the mighty mullet. This […]
It’s cold, but so much fun!
Cottage welcomed 21 students for a short, but busy 2-day camp. A quick tour and lunch, then it was time to tackle our afternoon activity. There were squeals of excitement as the children learned they’d be heading down to the beach for a swim and play. We popped on our wetsuits and ran down to […]
Woo Hoo!
We welcomed 16 students and two staff from a small school on the east coast of Victoria. Students spoke of the love for their nearby coastal regions in East Gippsland, yet were mesmerised at the stunning coastline surrounding Cottage by the Sea. While grey clouds lurked above, the students braved the wintery conditions and enjoyed […]
Stairway to triumph!
Arriving in Sydney with 22 Mentors, we were set to discover the sights and sounds of the city. First, there was stairs to climb out of the airport, stairs to climb out of the underground train line and stairs to the apartment buildings. It was all in preparation for the final adventure of a 3 […]
Reef swim with a special find!
Each week the children gear up into wetsuits for a swim at our favourite beach, right out the back gate of Cottage. If we’re lucky we time the swim right on the low tide. When its low tide at our beach the small reef becomes exposed. The reef is a beautiful sight and we invite […]
2021 Winter Newsletter
Through most of the year, we take groups of children on fishing charters. The children rise early, before dawn and head down to Queenscliff Harbour in the Cottage bus. The generously donated hand knitted scarves, beanies and gloves areparticularly welcome in the cool mornings.
Fun in any weather
After a warm and sunshine filled weekend, Monday morning held only a few hours of sunshine left before Winter was going to roll straight off the beach and into Cottage. So we made the most of it and had a large game of dye dodge ball before heading for a swim with some fun swell […]
