News & Articles
Coming together as a team
For our new REEF participants, this camp would focus on team work, as students came to cottage to experience their first of many camps. On day one, the children headed into splashdown to participate in some water activities. They split into teams, and competed in duck diving, human tunnel ball and noodle races. They all worked […]
Crucial intervention for children from bushfire-affected areas
In 2020, Cottage by the Sea will begin a three-year commitment to supporting children from Victorian bushfire-affected communities by providing Take a Break camps. We have previous experience supporting children who experienced trauma in the 2009 Victorian fires, over an extended period. The Take a Break camps for primary school-age children from bushfire affected communities will be […]
A place which helped shape my belief in people
In December 2019, some wonderful people from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) volunteered their time at Cottage by the Sea. One of their team, Tony, stayed at the Cottage as a child nearly 50 years ago. We were lucky enough to hear his story. In his own words, Tony has generously shared some of his […]
Jungle escape brings kids to the beach
This February, Cottage by the Sea CEO Adam Wake, is participating in a unique jungle marathon event. Adam is using his participation in the event to help raise funds for the Cottage to provide camps for children and families in bushfire affected communities. The “Escape from The Jungle” event is unique in terms of the […]
Fun, Fish and Friends!
This week at cottage by the sea we had 17 children from Yuille Park Community College come visit and stay! The children were so excited the second they got off the bus! The morning was filled by a long bus trip and a cottage tour until lunch. After lunch the children got to go explore […]
Invasion of the Elephant Snail
Another perfect day down at Barwon Heads with one of the lowest tides we have ever seen! The campers were extremely excited to get out there and explore. With the tide being so low, it gave us the chance to head right out the back of the rock pools to the area that is usually […]
Building opportunity for more children
The rumbles of change at Cottage by the Sea have become quite loud recently, as refurbishment works stride ahead. Work on the 80-year-old Cottage got underway just before Christmas last year and parts of the property were closed during the Annual Fair this January. Since the Fair, work has continued in earnest with the removal […]
Hunt for the Dragon Eggs!
We had a beautiful day here in Queenscliff, 23 degrees and partly cloudy. A perfect day to be outdoors all day. The morning started with a boogey board at the Ocean Grove beach with nice clean waves rolling in. The group partnered up and shared a board between them. Once we were dry and changed […]
Space to breathe after the fires
Cottage by the Sea will once again open its doors to communities affected by bushfire. Bushfires ravaging Victoria this summer have impacted each and every one of us. Even far away from the devastation, our local beaches have been closed as smoke engulfs Victoria. Without hesitation we have all reached into our hearts and wallets […]
Our only measure is the child’s need
When we heard of cases where not only a child and her mother, but also her grandmother, have all had their holiday at Queenscliff, we feel that the Cottage holds a unique record in Victoria,” writes Pamela Conrad, Organising Secretary of the Ministering Children’s League (Cottage by the Sea) in a document from 1963. During […]
ADVENTURE PARK WITH A TWIST!
Bus was packed and the surf trailer was attached, we were ready to head down to Ocean Grove for a surf.Unfortunately with the air quality being very poor due to the East Gippsland fires all of the beaches on the Bellarine were closed. No more surfing! Plan B was in full force. We had a […]
An experience like no other
It was Tuesday, mid-December and the All Mentors were on the road to Winnap, a town along the Lower Glenelg National Park. For one Mentor this was going to be an experience like no other. Day 1 involved sleeping on a camping stretcher bed in a garage with carpet on the floor. “We’re not seriously sleeping in […]
Very Merry Cottage
Historically, Cottage by the Sea hosted children over Christmas and throughout the summer holidays. It was an invaluable service for hundreds of families, especially those who needed to work through this period. Thanks to generosity of private donations, the Cottage was able to offer a beachside holiday for free. Children played on the local beaches […]
Team Work
This week we had a school group from Corio for a 3day camp, who were eager to get onto the Low Ropes Course. Excitement was high as we finally made it onto the Low Ropes course for their last activity of camp. We were saving the best for last. All the children listened carefully to […]
Quiksilver Surf Day!
It was a beautiful morning on Wednesday for our annual Quiksilver Surf Day, unlike last year when we had rain and thunderstorms. We arrived down at Cosy Corner Beach in Torquay and we were greeted by eight of Quiksilver’s finest employees who were eager to get in the water with our campers. A short lesson […]
Can you cross the river?
It was the final day of camp. After being challenged while swimming in the ocean, learning about Point Lonsdale and the Rip, walking from the Queenscliff fort to the Marine and discovering new marine creatures at the Marine & Freshwater Discovery Centre there was one last challenge to overcome for these Grade 3, 4’s and […]
Thank you for listening!
One of our Mentors spoke at our 129th Annual General Meeting this October … below is a transcript of his thoughtful and heartfelt speech. Good morning everyone, welcome to the AGM. My name is Bailey, I’ve enjoyed my time at Cottage by the Sea. My five highlights were The Melbourne trip Seeing Foxy lose his […]
2019 Summer Newsletter
We had a mission for our rock pool ramble today! The mission was to find as many Sponge Bob Square Pants characters as we possibly could. The children were super excited to take on this task and finding the first character “Mr Krabs” was quite easy! Before we even made it out to the rock […]
