What began as a mother's dream has given this North Queensland town a glimpse into what truly inclusive play and learning can look like.
When Bec Nicol set out to establish what would become Summer House, she wanted to create a "village".
The Mackay mum had struggled to find a safe space for her young son – who lives with a number of complex disabilities, including Down syndrome – to learn, socialise and be supervised.
"We could not attend anything in the community without him physically having a behavioural reaction," Ms Nicol said.
"We were going to parks to play with children and he was pushing them off slides and hitting kids … he just wasn't coping.
"It could be a tapping fan or a light that's just too bright, it could be the sound of children laughing.
"Because he's non-verbal, it could be the child that comes up to him and says 'What's your name?' and he can't reply back to them."
Ms Nicol said her son learnt to intimidate others as a coping mechanism and needed safe access to social skills programs.
Through her charity, All Abilities Mackay, Ms Nicol established Summer House — a place for families struggling with disability that is open to neurotypical children as well.
"We were getting NDIS funding for social skills programs, but the social skills programs were only [funded for] participants with NDIS," she said.
"[But] they're getting social skills funding because they don't have the social skills.
"So our idea was if we had a place that was safe and predictable and catered 100 per cent for these kids with disabilities, what would happen if we brought neurotypical kids in?"
From there the centre grew as it met an untapped demand for an inclusive community space.
There was also diversity among staff — the centre hired local man Ray Wegner, who lives with cerebral palsy and had been looking for a job for many years.
"He certainly is teaching those kids something that nobody else can," Ms Nicol said.
An end to a chapter
From mud and sand pits to messy play with coloured spaghetti, the not-for-profit centre has been a refuge for dozens of families since it opened in 2019.
But after today its doors will close.
"It's very hard and difficult to set up any new business under any circumstances and then COVID came along and blew it out of the water," Ms Nicol said.
Earlier this month Ms Nicol announced she had made "devastating" decision to close, but she hoped the centre would continue in some form.
"We’ve shown a glimpse into what’s possible and how a space can be inclusive," she said.
"I've been speaking to people who'd love to keep Summer House going.
"I had three therapists getting in touch with me and saying they love the idea and hadn't seen therapy delivered in that way before."
Ms Nicol said a major barrier throughout the life of Summer House was raising awareness for the service and its compatibility with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
"It was devastating that there were a lot of misconceptions out there from people who had NDIS that … they couldn't use that funding in our centre," she said.
She said it highlighted a lack of information and clarity for families about their options.
'Nothing like it'
Bethany Cordero is one of the many parents who say the closure will leave a huge gap in Mackay's early learning space.
"We thought we'd check it out and we've been every week since," Ms Cordero said.
"Whether you're neurotypical or a family with disability, everyone's got some battle that you're fighting.
"There's nothing like it in Mackay — there really isn't."
Chelsea Dodgson took her two-year-old son to the centre and said it would be missed.
She said it was important to her that her child learnt in an environment that was inclusive.
"It's definitely how a lot of us want to raise this next generation of kids — teaching them that being different isn't a bad thing," Ms Dodgson said.
