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The Venny, Kensington Melbourne, c.1982. Courtesy The Venny Archives.
A Brief History
Danish landscape architect, Carl Theodor Sørensen (1893-1979) described the pioneering concept of the Adventure Playground in his 1931 publication. He imagined:
“…a junkyard playground in which children could create and shape, dream and imagine a reality … we could try to set up a kind of junk playground in suitable and fairly large areas, where the children could use junk cars, packing crates, brushwood and the like. It’s possible that supervision was needed, both to prevent excessive bad behaviour and to reduce the possibility of children getting hurt.”
In 1943 a housing cooperative near Copenhagen put the idea into practice. Under the title ‘Emdrup’ (meaning ‘Junkyard’ in Danish), it became Europe’s first Adventure Playground. Following the destruction of the Second War, various personalities engaged in peace building visited the site. Convinced by what they saw, they took Sørensen’s idea back to their respective countries. The most notable was the landscape architect and children’s rights activist, Lady Marjorie Allen (1897-1976), who took the vision of the Adventure Playground back to London and began to promote it worldwide.
Emdrup, Copenhagen, c.1943. Photo anon. Courtesy The Playground Project.
Emdrup, Copenhagen, c.1943. Photo anon. Courtesy The Playground Project.
An Australian Chapter
Australian journalist and globetrotter, Joan Healey (b. 1934) travelled to Europe in the late 1950s, where she encountered the emerging adventure playground movement. In London, inspired by the Notting Hill Adventure Playground, she became a play-worker at the Sands End Adventure Playground in East London.
The Cubbies
Returning to Melbourne in 1974, Healey established Australia’s first adventure playground in Collingwood, Melbourne’s north—officially named The Fitzroy Adventure Playground and more affectionately known as The Cubbies. With a mission to provide a safe ‘backyard’ for children living in the nearby housing estate, it is ocated on Napier Street beside the Atherton Gardens Housing Estate. The Cubbies became a vibrant hub of child-led play under Healey’s stewardship and a model for other adventure playgrounds in Australia.
The Cubbies (archival images), c.1973-1979. Exhibited in The Playground Project Melbourne, Incinerator Gallery MVCC, 2025. Photos anon. Courtesy Joan Healey.
In 2014, significant public funding cuts led to the partial dismantling and disappearance of many of The Cubbies‘ structures. Today, it is managed by The Venny in Kensington, Melbourne’s north-west—an adventure playground in JJ Holland Park with over 42 years of continuous operation and a shared ethos of inclusive, self-directed play.
The Venny
The Venny is a supervised, free communal backyard and safe play space for 5-to-16 year-olds. It is intentionally designed to engage in risk-taking play, creativity and connectedness among young people. Established in 1981 it is modelled on the original concept by Danish landscape architect, Carl Theodor Sørensen, who observed children preferred to play everywhere except the playgrounds that he designed and built.
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The Cubbies and The Venny are featured for the first time in The Playground Project, a living archive and international travelling exhibition curated by Gabriela Burkhalter and presented in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time by Incinerator Gallery in 2025.
The Cubbies (archival images), c.1980-1989. Exhibited in The Playground Project Melbourne, Incinerator Gallery MVCC, 2025. Photos anon. Courtesy Joan Healey.
While retired, Joan Healey continues to shape the future of adventure play through her close mentorship of current Venny playworker, David Kutcher. This intergenerational exchange includes practical knowledge and Healey’s personal archive of photographs, press releases, and ephemera, documenting The Cubbies’ early years. Many of these materials are presented in The Playground Project Melbourne, offering an intimate glimpse into the extraordinary and community-driven history of adventure playgrounds in Melbourne.
Founded by:
Managed by:
Exhibition View
The Playground Project Melbourne (Adventure Playgrounds – The Venny and The Cubbies, install view), 2025. Photo Timothy Burgess. Courtesy Incinerator Gallery MVCC.
Special Events
Incinerator x MADA Talk 1: Grounds for Risky Play
Friday, 23 May, 4pm to 7pm
The first of three public programs curated with Monash Art Design Architecture (MADA) and exploring the themes of The Playground Project Melbourne, the first session focussed eight Melbourne-based playgrounds launching with David Kutcher’s passionate presentation about The Cubbies and The Venny.
David Kutcher discussing Adventure Playgrounds at Incinerator x MADA Talk Series: Event 1 (23 May 2025). Photo Timothy Burgess. Courtesy Incinerator Gallery MVCC.
Thursday Late with David Kutcher
Thursday, 28 August, 6pm to 8pm
An exclusive guided tour of The Playground Project Melbourne, led by guest speaker David Kutcher from The Venny, focussing on the history of Adventure Playgrounds in Australia and Abroad.
David Kutcher's Guided Tour (in cap, with red booklet). The Playground Project Melbourne. Photo Timothy Burgess. Courtesy Incinerator Gallery MVCC.
The Venny Pop Up Playground
Fridays 11 and 18 July, 10 October 2025, 11am to 1pm
The Playground Project Melbourne extends over two school holidays and on the first Friday of each break, The Venny’s pop up playground invites all young visitors free community-led adventure play on the premises of the Incinerator Gallery, making it the exhibition’s fifth playable installation. The Venny To You van also runs weekly pop-up play sessions at MVCC’s Flemington Hub community centre and other neighbouring public housing estates.