Auslan
Auslan
Trial of John Fitzgerald, 1818
Here we can see that the deaf convict John Fitzgerald used an interpreter at his trial in London in 1818. Fitzgerald arrived in Australia in 1819 – one of the earliest signing deaf people from Europe.
Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 20 June 2023), September 1818, trial of JOHN FITZGERALD (t18180909-1).
September 9, 1818
Manual alphabet, 1862
This is an illustration of the fingerspelling alphabet that was used in the NSW Deaf and Dumb Institute in 1862, two years after its establishment. Can you find any differences between this version of the alphabet, and the one we use today?
From the NextSense archives. Used with permission.
Deaf and Dumb Festival, 1887
DEAF AND DUMB FESTIVAL. (1887, April 21). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved January 17, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241222748
“There is something quite fascinating in the hand-talk practised by a lively young lady, embellished with all the witchery of nods and smiles, while occasional dots and dashes have to be put in by pointing to her mouth or eyes. Then there is a splash of one hand across the palm of another, which gives the final touch to an indefinable kind of attraction, like that possessed by an accomplished Frenchwoman.”
Copyright Darlene Thornton 2024
The Finger Alphabet and Book of Signs, early 20th Century
The Deaf and Dumb Alphabet poster, early 20th Century
“Say a word of cheer to every deaf mute you meet”
This is an early 20th century example of a fingerspelling chart – it is unusual because it was quite large. It was distributed by the Adult Deaf and Dumb Society of Victoria. This version of the alphabet is similar to the one used around Australia today.
MS 2839. Australian Manuscripts Collection, State Library of Victoria
Australasian Deaf and Dumb Association Congress, 1911
This Congress of the Australasian Deaf and Dumb Association was held in 1911 in Melbourne. It includes a presentation from J. E. Muir (a prominent deaf leader in Melbourne) called ‘Uniform System of Sign and Finger Language for the deaf of Australasia’. We’d love to know what he was proposing!
Image courtesy of Melissa Anderson.
The Lord’s Prayer in the language of gesture, c. 1920s
This is an example of how the Adult Deaf and Dumb Society of Victoria made use of film technology when it was still a new medium. They have filmed Superintendent Ernest Abraham signing ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ – which would have been a familiar text to most viewers. Today we might call this a ‘frozen text’ – something which is regularly repeated and usually signed the same way.
From the Collection of the Victorian Deaf Community (Expression Australia)
Copyright Darlene Thornton 2024
The Silent Messenger, March-April 1949 – ‘Signs Conference’
Ernest Reynolds showing sign vocabulary, c. 1949
Learn the New Signs! c. 1965
This small card was distributed by the Australian Deaf Sports Federation, from around 1965 onwards. It encouraged signers to adopt a standard set of signs for numbers, and also to adopt new signs for DOLLAR and CENT (decimal currency was about to be introduced in 1966).
RNID Library.
Conversation with the Deaf, 1967
Dorothy Shaw at the opening of the Stanmore Deaf Centre, 1975
Dorothy Shaw gives a formal presentation at the opening of the Stanmore Deaf Centre in 1975. This is a good example of a formal register of Auslan at the time, which was almost all fingerspelling. The same signer would have a more relaxed style of signing in other situations.
NSW Deaf Community Collection (Deaf Connect).
Copyright Darlene Thornton 2024
Dictionary of Australasian Signs, 1982
This was the first Signed English dictionary, published in 1982. It was used in schools all over Australia, and also in New Zealand and some other Pacific countries. It was referred to as the ‘Green Book’ by many deaf people.
Jeanes, R. C. & Reynolds, B. E. (Eds.) (1982). Dictionary of Australasian signs for communication with the deaf. Victorian School for Deaf Children.
How Auslan got its name in the 1980s
In this video, Professor Trevor Johnston describes the movement to have Auslan recognised in the 1980s, and explains how the name ‘Auslan’ was invented.
Copyright Deaf Australia. Used with permission.
Auslan Dictionary, 1989
The first Auslan dictionary, compiled by Trevor Johnston in 1989.
Johnston, Trevor. (1989). Auslan dictionary: A dictionary of the sign language of the Australian Deaf community. Deafness Resources Australia, Ltd.
Read More
Johnston, T. (1989). Auslan dictionary: A dictionary of the sign language of the Australian deaf community. Petersham, NSW: Deafness Resources Australia.
Johnston, T. & Schembri, A. (2007). Australian Sign Language: An introduction to sign language linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
