I am well known in the Deafblind Community in Australia. I was born Blind with low vision and had a mild to moderate hearing loss as a child.

I grew up in a blind school and hated it with a capital H. Music and the piano was an important refuge from life in an institution.

I have early memories of bad ear infections that affected my hearing. It wasn’t until I was much older I found out I had choleseatoma. So I had very low vision, and hearing that was failing.

Hearing aids stayed in my pocket most of the time and I got into trouble when not using them. After a serious operation to remove the infection I lost the little remaining hearing I had.

Being a musician I was absolutely devastated.

Back in 1992 I was one of the early pioneers of the Cochlear Implant when it was being trialled and developed. Few deafblind people were being implanted at that stage. Working with a Dog Guide was also a blessing and giving me some mobility.

Later, I graduated from La Trobe University with qualifications in Deafblindness and Languages. I obtained a Bachelor of Arts as well. I also received my Diploma of Auslan from Melbourne Polytechnic. At the moment I am studying the Deafblind Introductory course online.

I work for Deafblind Victoria, Australia’s biggest employer of deafblind people in Victoria. I am responsible for teaching braille and adaptive technology. I also run the QAT (Queer, Allies and Trans) programme and I am on the board of Deafblind Australia.

My interests are reading and playing the piano and I am the principal organist at St James in Traralgon, Victoria.

Published on May 13, 2026.

Photo from  ABC News | Imagined Touch: Deafblind performance pushes audience to experience art through feeling