The Rebuttal

This Christmas will be the first Christmas where I am retired. After Xmas, I will be going to England and Scotland with Marnie. We are spoiling ourselves this year. We are even staying at a castle near Ben Nevis. I’m at loss as to what to put on my Xmas list. Maybe there are a couple of things that I would like to see. Not material things; just things that I think would be nice to see happen.

Us oldies will remember the time when Deaf Societies were the hub of the Deaf community. When the Australian Deaf Games were on for example, participants would meet at the Deaf Society and finalise their registrations. At night time the Deaf Club would be humming.

I remember rocking up at Newmarket Deaf Club in 1988 and finding out the Games were on. I registered on the spot and got roped into playing in goal for Victoria Deaf Soccer Team (I was living in SA at the time.) Rego was 80 bucks or something and you could play whatever sport you wanted. It included the closing dinner as well. There is no question; each State Deaf Society and the Deaf Club were the hub of the Deaf community. Those days are long gone.

This leads me to number 1 on my Xmas list; that the Deaf community can once again experience the joy of a Deaf club of their own. A hub that is theirs and an institution that they can be proud of. Wishful thinking perhaps, but this is a wish list after all.

Recently I was at the Old Bluestone building in St Kilda. This historical old building housed the original Victorian School for Deaf Children. A Deaf man, FJ Rose, founded the school in 1860 and was the first Headmaster of the school. He set the school up after reading in the Argus newspaper of a mother who had a Deaf daughter and did not want to have to send her daughter to England for her education. Such a fantastic history.

I was privileged to have worked there. What I loved most about working at this grand old building was the relationship we had with the Victorian College of the Deaf next door. VSCD Inc. provided services to deaf kids and families, many from the school. At lunch I would mingle in the school staff room with the teachers. I would play soccer on the oval with the kids. I loved it. (VSDC Inc. was the then branding for what is now known as Deaf Children Australia).

The kids would bring the old Bluestone Building to life. They had home economics classes there and a recreation room with table tennis tables upstairs. I would chat with the kids in the hallway and wave hello to them in the yard in the morning. It was one of the happiest times I can remember in my career.

So there I stood in front of the old Bluestone Building. Its huge doors were closed. It was very foreboding. There is a sign on the door saying “By appointment only.” Another sign instructs delivery people not to leave packages at the door but to call a phone number so that someone can come and get the packages. It looked sad and forlorn. There was not a deaf child to be seen. I reflected on my joyous time working there and wondered how it had come to this.

I commented on this once before a couple of years ago. I described how unwelcoming the big doors closed were and took a photo. I compared this to the vibrancy and atmosphere of the Tradeblock cafe run by the Victorian College of the Deaf. I posted my thoughts on Facebook.

It didn’t go down well. In fact, the CEO of Deaf Children Australia actually contacted my boss to complain. Well, I am retired now and don’t have a boss so if he wants to complain about this article I guess he will have to come to me. Failing that, I hope he has a stiff drink at hand or at least someone that can give him a cuddle.

But I jest. I realise that there are many reasons the doors are closed and children are no longer free to roam. Fears for their safety and strict rules about who can interact with the children are part of the reason. But still I yearn for the days of yonder when everything was so friendly and interactive.

This brings me to number two on my Xmas list. I would love to see that old community spirit that I experienced restored at the hallowed grounds of the Bluestone Building. It would be great to restore the camaraderie and community spirit where the kids could be exposed to Deaf adults and mentors. A spirit that FJ Rose would be proud of.

In retirement, I have had time to reflect on my long career. I worked at Deaf Societies across Australia in South Australia, NSW and Victoria. I was also fortunate to work for both Expression Australia and Deaf Connect. Both are wonderful organisations in their own right.

When I began my career, there was an Association of Deaf Societies. Deaf Societies across Australia would work on and support important issues like the National Relay Service. Every couple of years they would plan the Deafness Conference hosted by a different state. People may not agree with me, but I think back then the spirit of cooperation was high.

I guess what the NDIS has done is that it has led to an environment where our Deaf organisations aggressively market themselves to survive, as they must. It has led to our Deaf organisations becoming extremely territorial and defensive of their domain. That old spirit of cooperation that I witnessed all those years ago seems to have been replaced by mistrust and a fierce protective response to territory and markets. I think that is very sad.

Which brings me to my final Xmas wish. This wish is that our Deaf organisations can find it in themselves to rediscover that strong spirit of cooperation that they had in the past. Where they can find common ground rather than differences. Where they can work together on important issues that are relevant to the Deaf community. Is that too much to wish for?

Yeah, maybe I am just old and it’s just as well that I have retired. That said, I sincerely hope that our Deaf organisations can once again find that spirit of cooperation and trust again. Most of all I hope that Community Hub, those Deaf clubs and that brilliant community spirit that I was fortunate to experience, can be restored to its former glory.

Merry Xmas everyone. And if you don’t celebrate Xmas, have a fantastic break!

*** With respect for the challenges that our Deaf organisations must confront today. I am under no illusions as to how difficult that it is to survive.