It was the long-awaited opening of a new classroom and the most significant event in the 39 year history of the preschool.

News crews and politicians visited throughout the day and the children sang their hearts out.

It was a staggering investment of more than $310,000, countless hours of paperwork and one nerve wracking meeting with council that helped shape this evolutionary journey.

From humble beginnings in June 1976 with just eight children, Wingham Preschool has grown to become a cornerstone of the community. It is much loved by the children, their families, the educators and the hard working board members. Passion drives the preschool and with a waiting list as long as your arm, the facility has been bursting at the seams for a number of years now.

Opening the new building was federal member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie who quite fittingly suggested that success comes to those that keep going and fill out the paperwork.

To receive the funding for the building required a staggering effort by president Donna Stirrup and office wiz Megan Bisley who submitted round after round of grant applications to secure enough funding to expand the preschool.

There were many angels along the way including Carolyn McFarland of Austin McFarland Architects who designed the building, Terry Cross of Altez Building Contractors whose team built the "perfect classroom," Terry Hemmingway from Crown Lands and Alison Boyd from the Department of Education.

But even with award winning building heavyweights on hand and some key officials on-side, the project had its ups and downs.

The site was small and flood prone, boundaries had been mixed up many years ago and there were water pipes in the way that would require relocating.

This grand design went from an initial estimate of $235,000 to building costs of $310,000. Contingency funding had to be negotiated and all new leases entered into for the site.

The preschool also had to keep operating while construction took place creating some logistical headaches for the team.

But amid the trauma of a major building project, some good news was received along the way. It was discovered that as long as Wingham Preschool continues to operate as a preschool the lease is now guaranteed.

It looks like a very happy future is on the cards for Wingham and District Preschool and Donna and her team should be very proud indeed.