Tag: community connection

Kimberley Williams and the Power of Auslan

At the Ignite event on 5 September at the Berry School of Arts, every speaker gave us something to think about. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing highlights from each presentation. You can find the other presentations as they are published here.

Kimberley Williams opened the second half of the evening with a talk that was equal parts fun and deeply important. She began by asking if we had ever struggled to find the right words, or felt that English simply was not enough to express what we wanted to say. Her answer was simple: sometimes what we need is not more words, but a different language altogether.

“If more of us learned Auslan, we could meet the deaf community halfway instead of expecting them to always meet us.”

That language is Auslan, Australian Sign Language. Kimberley reminded us that Auslan is not “English on your hands.” It is a full language with its own grammar and rules, recognised as the language of the Australian deaf community. Auslan is taught in schools, has its own dictionary, and is used every day by people across the country.

Auslan works where spoken language fails, in noisy restaurants, at concerts, even underwater.

With humour and warmth, Kimberley showed the audience a few signs, from everyday words to her personal favourite: prawn. She explained how Auslan can be used in places where spoken language fails — in noisy restaurants, at a concert, or even underwater. During COVID and the bushfires, many of us saw Auslan interpreters standing beside leaders on our television screens, making vital information accessible in real time.

“Auslan is not just gestures. It is a full blown language with grammar, structure, and expression.”

Kimberley acknowledged that she herself is not deaf, and spoke with respect about sharing Auslan as an ally. Her deaf friends reassured her that awareness is a positive step, and she urged anyone interested to learn from deaf-led organisations with native signers, not from YouTube where many of the resources teach American Sign Language instead.

“Inclusion begins with learning how to connect.”

Her message was powerful. If more of us learned Auslan, we could meet the deaf community halfway instead of expecting them always to meet us. We could use it from childhood to support language development, and we could use it later in life when hearing fades. At a noisy family barbecue, when grandpa forgets his hearing aid, signing could keep him included instead of isolated.

Kimberley left us with a simple sign to try together: “It’s lovely to meet you.” And with it, a reminder that inclusion starts with learning how to connect.

Read Kimberley’s Master’s Thesis  The Lived Experience of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in New South Wales that used Auslan to Access the Mainstream Curriculum, in the Context of the Support Models Provided for their Inclusion

📸 Images used in this post are for commentary and community storytelling. Credits belong to the original photographers and sources. Please contact me if you would like an image credited differently or removed.

#IgniteBerry #KimberleyWilliams #Auslan #AustralianSignLanguage #Inclusion #Communication #CommunityConnection

A mural of memory and meaning at The Point Kiosk, Gerringong SLSC

Rose Leamon serves up muffins and warmth while Wendy Quinn shares a big smile at The Point Kiosk, where community connection is always on the menu.
Rose Leamon serves up muffins and warmth while Wendy Quinn shares a big smile at The Point Kiosk, where community connection is always on the menu.

Some stories belong in print. Others belong right here, on this blog, where I can speak directly to the community that holds them. This is one of those stories.

Right now, one in five adults in the Kiama local government area is reading these blogs. And I know many of you care deeply about the kind of community we are building together. That is why I chose to publish this story here. Because this is not just about a mural. It is about intergenerational wisdom, shared values, and the kind of spaces that help our young people grow up grounded, kind and connected.

When the Club Captain of Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club introduced me to Rose, Milly and Wendy, I thought I was going to write about a piece of art. What I discovered was something much bigger.

It starts with Wendy Quinn, a beloved local artist and teacher, who said yes without hesitation when asked to create a mural for The Point Kiosk. But she did not want to do it alone. She invited 19-year-old Milly Wall, club member, volunteer, and education student at the University of Wollongong, to join her. Together, they made something beautiful. But more than that, they made something meaningful.

The mural stretches across the back wall of the kiosk in a grid of black canvas panels, each one textured with real shells and fronds. Some of the shells were purchased. Others were salvaged from old classroom supplies. But many came from Wendy’s 95-year-old mother’s private collection, gathered over decades from beaches like Horseshoe Bay, Batemans Bay and Bawley Point, and kept safe in preserving jars.

“She gave them to me in preserving jars,” Wendy told me. “She has had them since the 1940s. I have saved them my whole life.”

Now they are part of a public space that welcomes everyone. The Point Kiosk is not just for club members. It opens from 6.30 to 10.30 in the morning to serve the wider community. The early risers, the Werri Beach walkers and talkers, the swimmers, the families, and anyone who wants a warm drink or a warm conversation.

The mural project was part of a broader effort to activate that space, led by Rose Leamon, a former Fortune 500 executive who left the corporate world to live a different kind of life by the sea. When Rose took on the challenge of operationalising The Point Kiosk, she brought with her the skills of a strategist, but also the heart of someone who understands that real leadership means making space for others to shine.

Wendy brought her artistry. Milly brought her energy. And what they created together is more than decoration. It is a story told in shells. It is memory and mentorship and moments passed from one generation to the next.

Wendy Quinn and Milly Wall deep in conversation outside The Point Kiosk. Mentor and mentee, sharing stories, ideas and mutual respect – proof that when generations listen to each other, extraordinary things can happen.

People stop to look. They point out favourite pieces. They tell stories of summers past. The mural does not just say this is who we are. It says this is who we are becoming.

In a world that too often forgets the quiet builders of community, this mural reminds us what matters. Shared purpose. Generosity. Creating spaces like The Point Kiosk, where young people grow up learning the most important things. Not just how to save lives in the surf, but how to live lives of meaning, together.

#ThePointKiosk, #GerringongSLSC, #WerriBeach, #CommunityInAction, #IntergenerationalWisdom, #ShellStories,  #Kiama,