Happy Hippo Toy Library Catalogue Index

Happy Hippo Toy Library Catalogue

Happy Hippo Toy Library provides families with a variety of quality and educational toys, to which they may otherwise have no access to, for hire at a small cost. We are a non-profit, self-funded community based organisation, that is kept running by a small team of keen volunteers, under the supervision of a volunteer co-ordinator. We can be found at the rear of the multi-purpose centre.

The toys are suitable for children from birth to primary school age.

The library is open Mondays to Fridays between 9 am and 4 pm, however it is generally only manned by dedicated library volunteers between 10 am and 12 pm. Whenever the toy library is unmanned, toys can be borrowed (or returned) by visiting centre reception during office hours. Toys can be reserved by phone, fax, in person, or via e-mail. To make the volunteer's job here easier, when reserving items, please state your name, which item(s) you wish to reserve, when you would like to reserve them for, and some contact details. Please note, that some items may not be available at the time you reserve them for various reasons, such as they may have already been borrowed, or may have been reserved earlier by another client.

You must be a member to be able to use the library. A one off membership fee of $15 is charged for families and organisations; $7.50 for Grandparents/Carers and families holding a Health Care Card. Membership forms are available from centre administration, the toy library, or can be downloaded from links at the bottom of this page. Upon joining the toy library, families/grandparents/carers are entitled to one free toy hire of up to $8 value.

Toy hire is for two weeks with the hire fee being roughly 5% of the toy's value. The hire period can be extended (if the toy has not been reserved) for the same amount. An overdue fee may be charged if the toy is returned late. The charge is half the hire cost for being one week overdue, and the full hire cost if the item is two weeks late.

All monies generated goes back to the toy library to purchase new items.

Children aged 0 to 6 are entitled to a free toy hire of up to $8 during the month of their birthday.

To help keep the toy library running smoothly, it is appreciated if items can be returned on time, as other children may be waiting to borrow them. Before returning the toys, please check to see if all the pieces are present, and that the toy is clean. For further helpful borrowing hints, please click here.

Please take into consideration when selecting toys, that some items may have chokable parts and items may not wholly match images shown on the website.

The Happy Hippo Toy Library is always looking for volunteers or donations of quality items to loan out. Please contact the centre if you are able to assist. To better improve the quality of the toys (and our service) please take the time to fill out and return a Toy Library Survey.

Click on the following images or links to view the library's catalogue. The following pages are best viewed in a Mozilla Firefox browser.