Leigh Harrison loves looking over to Kunanyi or Mount Wellington from the home he shares with his wife Faye, especially when there's snow on the peaks.
He enjoys downtime, but also finds great fulfilment in his work as a joiner and cabinet maker - especially when there's a new challenge.
I am never sick of the work. When there is a project that is different, I love it. It excites me to make it... I love the challenge.Leigh
In this episode of Humans of the Australian Deaf Community you'll learn about the accommodations Leigh uses to run his joinery workshop, and his experiences as a community leader including serving on the board of the Tasmanian Deaf Society for over 23 years and helping organise Tasmanian teams for the Australian Deaf Games.
is the second series of Our Deaf Ways - a video podcast created by SBS and Deaf Australia for Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing people who use Auslan, but we also invite hearing people to watch. The video portraits introduce you to the stories of Deaf people from different walks of life. Find all other episodes in the series on the SBS Australia channel and .
Series created by Paula Thornton, Deaf Australia.
Additional editing by Max Banyat.
Deaf Australia and SBS acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are watching with us.
Deaf Australia and SBS celebrate Auslan and recognise all Deaf leaders in Australia who have advocated for Deaf, Deafblind and hard of hearing communities. Deaf Australia is proud of everyone’s contribution, whether big or small, in preserving our language, community and culture.
Transcript
Hello my name is Leigh Harrison, I am here in Nipaluna, also known as Hobart. It’s a great place.
I am 78 years of age, and I am still working in the joinery industry.
And I am also involved in the Deaf community.
I started working at 16 years old, I worked for a company for 13 years.
When my former boss retired, that's when I decided to start my own business.
I started working for myself here under the house and worked for the next 15 years here.
Then I considered when someone come to me asking if I was interested in leasing a workshop which was not far from here.
I went and had a look,and decided that I would sign the contract to lease the workshop.
I moved there and stayed there for about 16-17 years.
When I moved back here, I thought I would retire but as things would have it, through word of mouth, they told me that they knew someone who knew me, and the text message asked if I could be interested in making a kitchen.
So I made the kitchen and it continued from there and am still going!
This means I have been working for 62 years as a cabinet maker and joiner.
I mostly make kitchens, walk in wardrobes, and vanities. I make them on my own and supply them to customers.
I received contact through text, and I will decide if I am to accept the request for the job, measure and then proceed from there.
I make wardrobes or built in wardrobes - a lot of requests for these.
Some people want custom sizes. Making wardrobes is the easiest job to do, very light work!
Kitchens are another story, these are complicated, it requires a lot of planning and figuring out.
I must be on the ball all the time, I don't want to make mistakes which means that money is wasted!
It requires a lot of concentration and patience. When a job is successful, I always feel very relieved!
You see that there are two lights. One is for my work area so I can see clearly while working and the other light is to tell me that the blower which sucks the sawdust is on!
Obviously, I’m deaf so I don't hear it going, so I know when it is on.
When I turn off the blower light, it indicates that the machine is powered off, and the blower will gradually decrease in size as it winds down.
If I’m about to leave and I can see the light is still on after turning off the machine, I’ll know the blower hasn’t been turned.
Then I turn off the blower machine and see it being turned off then the main light which means that I am finished working, time to go home!
I am never sick of the work. When there is a project that is different, I love it, it excites me to make it, I like doing regular projects, but I get really excited for new and different challenges. I love the challenge.
We live close to Mount Wellington, which is now called Kunanyi, its original Aboriginal name.
When it is wintertime, we both love to see the snow-capped range, sometimes it is just the top, sometimes it's all over the range.
Yes, it’s beautiful.
A while back, about 10 years ago - there was snow all over here! It is beautiful, I love seeing the snow around here.
It is a perfect location to live here, we both feel lucky to live here.
We have lived here for 49 years.
Yes, 49 years.
Perfect. It’s just perfect.
When I relax, I enjoy watching Shaun the Sheep on TV. Since I used to live on a farm, the show is funny and reminds me of my farm days.
I also enjoy watching other cartoons and documentaries. I have no interest in American drama shows. I only watch programs that I find good.
I work all day long and when I watch TV, it relaxes me and quietens my mind.
When I was 19, I started a Deaf community committee building on work of earlier Deaf-led committees before my time.
While I was involved, I planned and organised things like raffles and fundraising for accommodation for the Australian Deaf Games.
I also liaised with and worked with athletes from all over Tasmania, including the northwest, to create teams for sports like cricket, basketball and squash.
We would send teams to the Australian Deaf Games every three years.
The Australian Deaf Games are special to me because I meet new people, become friends, and see them again every three years.
These are all the Australian Deaf Games I attended as an athlete. I love this – it's a great memory for me.
Over the years since I set up a sports committee in Tasmania, I served as either the President or Secretary for many years.
Then in 1991, when the Australian Deaf Games were held in Hobart, during my time as President, the committee dissolved soon after.
But I was on the Board of the Tasmanian Deaf Society for over 23 years.
During my first three years, it was for the Tasmanian Society for the Blind and Deaf then the next 20 years it was for the Tasmanian Deaf Society.
For those years, I was either Vice-President or President. Eventually, I stepped down.
After I resigned, the organisation went through major changes over the next 4-5 years, until Expression Australia took over.
I have great memory of my time volunteering for the Deaf community.
I was honoured with a Life Membership for my board service. I'm content with how it all finished after stepping away.
