Pre 1788

Before white settlement

The beginning of white settlement is not the beginning of deaf history in Australia. 

Deaf people are present in every culture and society, including indigenous Australian nations. Many Australian Aboriginal groups have had well-developed sign systems. These sign systems are used in situations where speaking is forbidden or difficult – such as mourning periods, hunting, or communication between different language groups. They may have also been used with Aboriginal deaf people. 

Elizabeth (Betty) Steel

The emergence of deaf people in Colonial NSW began with convicts. 

Elizabeth (Betty) Steel

Betty Steel arrived on the Second Fleet as a convict in 1790. 
She is the first recorded European-born deaf person to arrive in Australia.

Thomas Pattison

Thomas Pattison, a deaf Scot, arrived in 1858 and began teaching deaf children at his residence at 152 Liverpool St in Sydney on 22nd October 1860. He started with 11 deaf pupils. 

First deaf religious service

On 25th October 1860 Thomas Pattison also arranged a religious service for deaf people at his house.

The numbers of deaf children steadily increased, leading to the beginnings of a Deaf community in NSW.

A report in 1862 showed that there were over 50 deaf children in Sydney alone, and numbers grew in the second half of the nineteenth Century. 

Thomas Pattison’s school became the NSW Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind. This period saw the rise of leaders in the community such as Fletcher Booth, and allies of the Community such as Samuel Watson, the Superintendent of the Institution. A national Deaf Community began to develop through interstate contacts and travel.

The First Club for Deaf Adults is Formed

The Deaf and Dumb Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Society was formed, with Fletcher Booth as the founding member and its Missioner

Deaf people gathered regularly in the school rooms of the original St Stephen’s Church in Rose Street Newtown between 1893 and 1902.

Fletcher Booth

Map of Newtown-Darlington

A place to call home

In June 1902 the Adult Deaf Institute was opened on the grounds of the NSW Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and the Blind, and Fletcher Booth was appointed as its Missioner. His wife Laura was also very active in Deaf Community organisations

The Adult Deaf Mute Association was responsible for managing the Adult Deaf Institute.

Fletcher Booth's wife Laura is still remembered as a tireless worker.

The iconic deaf community publication

'The Silent Messenger' was first distributed in 1906.
It was then renamed “The NSW Deaf Journal” from 1909, but lapsed after 1912.
It was resurrected as “The Silent Messenger” once again from 1929.

IMAGES ABOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

1. Sydney Town Hall interior

2. Extract from minutes of first meeting Image in 2012 Annual Report

3. Lord Mayor Arthur Cocks Image courtesy of City of Sydney Archives

4. Photo of First President, Mr David R Hall MLC, Minister for Justice  

5. Picnic at Clifton Gardens, Sydney Harbour on 14 October 1913

City of Sydney - Deaf Locations

Images of Elizabeth House

Deaf group at Balmoral Beach 1920s

The Deaf Society moved to Elizabeth House in 1928

The Breakaway

The turbulent years of the Great Depression were also revolutionary times in the Deaf Community of NSW. This was obvious when there was a breakaway organisation from the Deaf Society. 

In 1929, many deaf people were feeling increasingly dissatisfied with the paternalistic attitudes of the hearing leadership of the Deaf Society. This led to the formation of a breakaway organisation - the NSW Association of Deaf and Dumb Citizens. The Association’s periodical,
'The Deaf Advocate', was edited by Fletcher Booth and Ernest Quinnell and published the writings of radical deaf people from other Australian states as well.

The story of the breakaway is a complex one of power struggles against a background of social unrest. 

The breakaway Association began publishing its own magazine,
'The Deaf Advocate'.

The outbreak of World War II affected the Deaf Community in many ways. 

Deaf men were disqualified from active service in the army, but they took on many of the jobs at home which were previously held by hearing men. Deaf women also had broader employment opportunities. The Manpower program placed them in jobs to support the war effort, such as ammunition factories. The social and sporting activities of the Deaf community were restricted during wartime (as they were for everyone else), but this difficult period gave many deaf people opportunities for work and greater independence.

Sport in the 1940s

Gordon-Davis House

'Gordon-Davis House’  was opened at Stanmore to provide housing for deaf people. It was a popular hostel for deaf people, both young and old.

Holiday house in Newcastle

James Laskie Holiday Home at Belmont near Newcastle was built by the Society to provide a holiday house for deaf people, and opened in early 1953. It was very popular with deaf people until it was sold in 1958.

Deaf General Committee

The Society’s Board helped to re-establish the Deaf General Committee. 

The Deaf General Committee had begun as the ‘Deaf Mute Committee’  in 1916, and changed its name to the  ‘General  Committee’ (1924) and then the ‘Deaf General Committee’ (1928). The Deaf General Committee was dissolved in 1938, re-formed in 1945, then lapsed in 1948 for several years until resurrected in 1953. It ran for another 31 years until 1986. 

Social life: A Deaf Community picnic event in the 1950s

Dey House was built next to Gordon-Davis House at Stanmore,
to provide further accommodation for deaf people.

The Oral Division

The Oral Division within the Society was formed to support the increasing number of deaf people who were educated in an oral environment.

It ran parallel to the Deaf General Committee for many years and even had its own section in the Silent Messenger.

Sports had always been central in the life of the Deaf Community in NSW

The Australian Deaf community had been holding interstate sports Carnivals since the early 20th Century.

The event was re-named  the ‘Australian Deaf Games’ in the early 1960s and the first one was held in Sydney. 

Australia was represented at the International Games for the Deaf (now known as the Deaflympics) for the first time.

Two NSW competitors won medals – Barry Knapman won a gold medal for diving, and Jeff Went won a silver medal for swimming.

New South Wales Theatre of the Deaf

A group of deaf people formed an amateur theatre group to entertain deaf people and educate hearing people. This group went on to become the professional Australian Theatre of the Deaf with the support of Artistic Director Adam Salzer and Alexandra Hynes.

Name change

The Deaf Society changed its name this year, dropping the word ‘Dumb’. From 1975 the Society was known as ‘Adult Deaf Society of New South Wales’. 

The word ‘dumb’ had always meant ‘unable to speak’, and it was not considered offensive by deaf people in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. 

But around this time it began to take on the additional meaning of ‘stupid’, so deaf people and their organisations stopped describing themselves as ‘dumb’.

      Sydney Morning Herald, 28 January 1978

Alfred Lonsdale House

Alfred Lonsdale House for the Aged at Strathfield closed, and a new home for aged deaf people – Lonsdale House – was established at Stanmore on the same grounds as the Deaf Centre.

International Year of Disabled Persons

The International Year of Disabled Persons was a watershed year for disability rights and for the Deaf Community.

IYDP marked the beginning of a decade of a growing sense of pride in deaf culture and sign language. This led to exciting developments in the 1980s such as the beginnings of signing classes (mainly Signed English) at TAFE colleges, the coining of the term “Auslan”, the publication of the first Auslan dictionary, and the recognition of Australian Sign Language in a Government white paper on community languages. The shift towards acceptance of a multicultural society hastened the acceptance of Auslan and deaf culture in Australian society. An increased number of deaf people were recognised for their contributions, most notably Dorothy Shaw, who received an Order of Australia Medal in 1987.

Concerned Deaf for Total Communication in Education’

'Concerned Deaf' became a persistent and effective lobby group of deaf people and supporters, focusing on improving education for deaf children and advocating for more acceptance of Total Communication and (later) Australian Sign Language.

Charlene Grace remembers Prince Charles' visit
for the International Year of Disabled Persons.

Kenneth Tribe, one of the Society’s long-serving Board directors, established a Fellowship Fund to support deaf and hard of hearing students with their studies

An interpreters’ organisation called the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) was formed, under the auspices of the Deaf Society. 

The name of this organisation changed a few times until it became the NSW branch of the Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association (ASLIA) in 1992. This organisation has been very active in raising the profile of interpreters and providing mentoring and professional development.

The Adult Education Centre for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Persons Inc. began.

The AEC was an adult education organisation specifically founded to run courses for deaf people, and the only one of its kind in Australia. It later became Deaf Education Network, which is now the education department of the Deaf Society. The AEC was one of the pioneers of Auslan classes, Auslan teacher professional development, and Deaf Studies courses.

Another name change

The Deaf Society dropped the word ‘Adult’ from its name, and became the Deaf Society of New South Wales. This allowed it to serve a wider range of deaf people.

NSW Association of the Deaf (NSWAD)

The Deaf General Committee closed and a more representative and broadly focused advocacy group was established. 

Initially called the NSW Council of the Deaf, this new organisation changed its name to the NSW Association of the Deaf in 1988. NSWAD was one of the state deaf associations which were organised to affiliate with the new Australian Association of the Deaf (AAD). AAD was established in 1986, with NSW deaf woman Dorothy Shaw as its first President. NSWAD changed its name to Deaf Australia (NSW) in 2009. 

Australian Sign Language was recognised in the Australian Government’s National Policy on Languages which was published in this year. This was helped by lobbying from the ‘Concerned Deaf’ group, among many others.

AIDS Project established

The Deaf Society established an AIDS Education Programme for the Deaf Community.  

In December 1988 the Deaf Society was granted funding by the State Department of Health to establish an AIDS Education Programme for the Deaf Community of NSW. In February 1989 Colin Allen was appointed as the AIDS Educator and he developed resources and provided workshops for the Deaf Community. In July 1989 the Federal Minister of Community Services launched the brochure and the video ‘’AIDS-Not Hearing Aids!’. In November 1989 the AIDS Education Programme for the Deaf Community was transferred to the AIDS Council of NSW with Colin Allen continuing as the AIDS Educator. 

The first Auslan dictionary, by Trevor Johnston of NSW, was published by Deafness Resources Australia.

Trevor Johnston

The first Deaf Festival 

The Deaf community organised a Deaf Festival at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. These festivals have been organised regularly since then.  The Deaf Festivals have been an effective way for the Deaf community to come together and celebrate its culture, language and heritage, while at the same time educating the wider public. These Festivals have been held regularly since 1992, in locations including Darling Harbour, Woodstock Park in Burwood, Parramatta Park and Parramatta Riverside.

Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association

The interpreters’ organisation established during the 1980s changed its name to become the NSW branch of ASLIA.

This was a difficult decision, made after extensive consultation with the community.

It was decided that the cost of upkeep of the Stanmore property should be spent on services for deaf people.

Deaf communities have always valued traditional meeting places such as Deaf Clubs. When the Stanmore Deaf Centre closed, the Sydney community felt this as a deep loss. When it was difficult to find another Centre during the 1990s, this was a painful experience for many people in the community.

The search for a Deaf Community Centre

With the closing of Stanmore, the Sydney Deaf community no longer had a Community Centre. Throughout the 1990s, with the support of the Deaf Society, a community group tried without success to find a new centre.  

Deaf Senior Citizens Group gathering at Lidcombe Memorial Bowling Club in 1998.

Meeting of Board of Directors and Senior Staff

A demographic study of the Deaf Community of NSW was commissioned and published by the Deaf Society, providing information about deaf people and services across NSW.

Auslan Heritage School

An Auslan Heritage School was established, as a joint project of the Deaf Society and the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC), to provide mentoring and Auslan classes for families of deaf children.

The Australian Deaf Games

 The Australian Deaf Games were held at Sydney Olympic Park, with an accompanying social program and film festival.

The Deaf Society added community education to its services with this merger

Deaf Education Network (formerly the Adult Education Centre for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Persons) was an experienced provider of Auslan courses and other community education programs. The Deaf Society was now a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and was able to expand its profile both in the Deaf community and the wider community.

In the photo on the right, the original Director of the Adult Education Centre, Michael Clancy, cuts the cake at the merger celebrations.

Sydney Deaf Club

A Deaf community group established the Sydney Deaf Club, with regular gatherings at Club Burwood. This has since expanded to other venues around Sydney.

Deaf President elected

The Deaf Society elected its first deaf President, Anthony Gorringe.

The Interpreting Department becomes Sign Language Communications NSW

Australian Deaf Societies collectively established a new interpreting arm called Sign Language Communications, with state branches administered by the State Deaf Societies.