The online eKindy program is helping more than 100 young children attend kindergarten, despite their remote locations.
Story Ken Eastwood Photo Cindy Finney
By the cattle yards on 11,286ha Archer station, near Rockhampton, Qld, Cindy and Jason Finney’s daughters Emily, Ava and Heidi have each attended kindy online, Heidi most recently in 2025. The girls have undertaken a mix of group sessions, individual sessions and their own activities offline, while the Finneys continued working in the yards or mustering, without having to take a couple of hours to drive in and out of Rockhampton each day.
“We’re only 30km from Rocky, but I can’t work at the same time if I’m having to drive in and out twice a day,” Cindy says. “It works for us because we are able to do it whenever we can.”
With 118 students, mainly in remote areas of Queensland, but with some in NSW and some travelling overseas, eKindy is delivered through the Brisbane School of Distance Education. It has been running for 11 years and currently has eight teachers to deliver the free, flexible kindergarten program of 15 hours a week to children who are unable to attend a local service due to distance, travel or medical issues.
This story excerpt is from issue #164
Outback Magazine: Dec/Jan 2026
