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The, V(Welopme;nt ifAustralia's VaifCiYmmunif(j ~n the, TWent£e,th antuY(j CAROL O'REILLY remember that as a young deaf girl, I was keen to meet other deaf people. I attended a school for hearing students, but I thirsted for knowledge about how other deaf people led their lives, especially teachers, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. After I was introduced to deaf people in my city, I was inspired to meet other members of the deaf community across Australia and abroad. Imagine, then, the frustration experienced by deaf people living in Australia before the twentieth century, when there was no formal deaf community. The fragmentation of the deaf community at that time thwarted many attempts made by deaf people to form friendships and enjoy social activities with other deaf Australians. Some fortunate individuals in Australia's deaf community who knew how to communicate in sign language would dress up and meet their deaf neighbors socially, usually on a street corner near the local school for the deaf, or at a tennis court,. another popular gathering place. However, formal meeting places for deaf people were nonexistent at that time. Deaf Clubs Deaf clubs in Australia were established at different times in the various states. Although available records indicate that deaf people have met at a number of places for social contact and religious worship since 1883, the first club-or Deaf Society-on record was formed in Sydney in 1913 with fifty pounds in borrowed currency. The club met in different locations until 1947, when property was purchased in Stanmore (a suburb of Sydney) and a clubhouse was built. In Melbourne, the city's Deaf Society purchased a large lot and buildings in 1924 in the area called Jolimont Square. The original club building is still standing today. In Adelaide, the Deaf Society building was constructed in 1928 for the sum of 10,447 pounds and continues to serve the city's deaf community to this day. In Perth, a large club building and an adjoining hostel were built on a sizeable tract of land to replace My special thanks go to my daughter Karin; Dorothy Shaw, president of the Australian Association of the Deaf; the Adult Deaf Societies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, West Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland; the Department of Health (Cairns); and the National Acoustic Laboratory (Cairns). 156 THE DEAF WAY ~ Deaf Cultures Around the World the old club, which was built in 1921. (The new facility, which opened in 1983, is a magnificent structure with a spacious lounge and a glassed-in upper landing affording spectacular views of sporting activities on the playing fields below. The building also houses administration offices for welfare and counseling.) In Hobart, where the deaf population is relatively small compared with Australia's other major cities, deaf people gathered in a variety of places over the decades until 1962, when a clubhouse was eventually constructed for the deaf and blind communities. Finally, Brisbane's deaf community formed a club in a church hall and later purchased land at Newmarket, a suburb of Brisbane, where a round community hall and an adjacent office building were built. Public Services In each Australian state, the state government supports nursing homes for elderly, lowincome deaf people and hostels for underprivileged deaf youth. However, the economic recession that has plagued Australia and the rest of the world in the early 1980s has put the future of many of these public services in jeopardy. Employment Until late in the twentieth century, deaf people did not have jobs that paid well, and educational and vocational training opportunities to give them the skills for better employment were scarce. Most deaf people worked at manual labor on farms and in factories , and a few secured jobs as clerical workers. However, when World War I broke out, there was a call for deaf people and others who were not enlisted in the war effort to keep the wheels of industry turning. This turned out to be a positive step for deaf people because it gave them the chance to prove that they were dependable and industrious workers. By the second World War, when the call for military service came, deaf men were not exempt from enlisting. Postwar Climate By the end of World War II, deaf immigrants who wanted to settle in Australia ran into resistance from the country's government. For example, restrictions applied to the following groups of people: those with "cancer or other...

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