Beach signs of a different kind
Colin Murphy, who has been deaf from birth, grew up not knowing sign language. “I went to a mainstream school and I didn’t know any better,” he says. “I naturally developed strong lip reading skills.”
“As I got older, I started to realise that, ‘Hang on a second, I’m struggling.’ I was starting to become a little more isolated, so I thought I should do something to try and mitigate that.”
Colin, who lives in Beacon Hill, decided to start learning Auslan, Australia Sign Language, as he wanted to become more involved in the deaf community. He started with a basic Auslan course, run through Deaf Connect in 2019, and has since completed a Certificate II and Certificate III Auslan course. He’s now working on his Certificate IV, and says there is a special group of people who have helped him along the way – the Auslan at the Beach Manly crew.
The group’s Facebook page says they are for ‘those who love Auslan, are learning Auslan, want to learn Auslan… sun, sand, surf and signing!’
“The Auslan group is an opportunity for everyone who uses Auslan to get together, talk, practice their skills and socialise,” says Colin. “We cater for everyone from someone at a basic student level up to people who have signed their whole life. We welcome everyone within that stream.”
The group meet once a month at West Esplanade on Sunday afternoons, and Colin has been part of the community for many years. “People who are very efficient at signing naturally pair off with people of their own level. But at the same time if they see someone who is new, isolated or struggling (with their signing) they will step in and try to support them.”
Numbers each month can vary from three to 25, and attendees include not only those from the Deaf community but those with a natural interest in Auslan, and those who work in the disability sector looking to improve their Auslan skills to aid communication with clients. “It’s a full mixture (of people) and that’s what we pride ourselves on,” Colin says.
The self-employed real estate valuer says learning Auslan has helped him to feel less isolated. “It’s certainly helped broaden my horizons and my socialisation – it’s opened the world from that point of view,” he says.
See the Auslan at the Beach Manly Facebook page for more information.
