The Story of the Liberty Swing
Thanks to Wayne Devine children with disabilities can now have as much fun on swings in a playground as their able bodied mates – no more sitting on the edge and wondering what it would be like to fly through the air and feel the breeze on their faces.
In 1988 Wayne was struck by the fact that conventional playground equipment did not cater for children with disabilities. His heart sank as he watched able-bodied children laughing and enjoying the playground swings in his local park, whilst a child in a wheelchair looked on in with envy. It was at that time that Wayne had the original idea of developing a swing for children in wheelchairs – a dream that has taken him 13 years to realise.
Wayne set about constructing a prototype out of timber and meticulously tested various structures and configurations to ensure a smooth and safe swing action whilst taking into account the special needs of children in wheelchairs.
However, after nearing perfection of his original idea, he was faced with a huge dilemma – his original idea was focussed on designing a playground swing for children in wheelchairs only. How would his design be able to be enjoyed by a child with some other type of disability who was unable to use a conventional swing, such as a child without the use of their arms for example?
At this time Wayne was faced with a crisis – whether to scrap the whole idea entirely or to persevere with his dream and endeavour to incorporate some modifications to ensure that all children with a disability were able to take advantage of his swing.
Faced with this problem, Wayne’s determination was made even stronger.
After many, many hours and countless sketches and models, Wayne finally came up with a feasible way to incorporate a seat into the swing whilst still being able to accept a conventional wheelchair.
His truck loaded with his prototypes and sketches, Wayne headed down to Melbourne from Sydney to meet with the design team at Nylex Rotomold to establish a way of constructing the swing’s capsule out of heavy-duty plastic. A timber construction simply wouldn’t stand up to the rigours of an outdoor child’s playground. An internal steel structure had to be included to support the weight of up to 250 kg. Nine months later the swing was ready for its trial run.
Wayne invited three local Hurstville City councillors (Bryan Mcdonald, Beverly Geigle and Phillip Sanson) to take the lead and lend their support and assistance to the development of the Liberty Swing. They agreed to assist on the condition that the swing met with Australian safety standards and that it presented a low-risk factor. The swing was then set up in Wayne’s factory and playground inspectors were employed to assess the swing for its adherence to safety standards. They advised that a new ramp be designed and constructed, and four months later the swing was ready to go.
A chance meeting with a wheelchair bound friend of Wayne’s son uncovered a new problem. His wheelchair was a ‘sports’ model and couldn’t be constrained with the swing’s wheel locking device. Having come so far, and with the finish line near in sight, Wayne was devistated that the first person to go into the swing couldn’t be locked in!
Wayne then enlisted the help of his good friend John Price to resolve the problem of developing a new wheel locking mechanism and they finally came up with a design that would include all wheelchairs including electric wheelchairs.
A demonstration was arranged for Hurstville City Council. Present at that meeting were the Mayor, Councillors and engineers from Hurstville City Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Blue Mountains City Council, representatives from the office of Fay Lo Po, Minister for Disabilities and Kevin Green MP, State Member for Georges River. Some 12 individuals in wheelchairs, ranging in age from 8 to 60 with various disabilities were in attendance to help demonstrate the swing.
After finalising the signage and locking mechanisms and making yet another ramp, Wayne’s dream was realised in July 2000 when the first swing of this type was opened in Old’s Park, Forest Road, Penshurst NSW.
Since then other Liberty Swings have been installed at:
- Auburn City Council, NSW (Auburn Botanic Gardens)
- St Albans Council, UK (St Albans Gardens)
- Sutherland Shire Council, NSW
(Cooper Street Reserve, Engadine, and Shelley Park, Cronulla)
- Melton City Council, Victoria (Melton Park)
For more Liberty Swing locations click here Thanks to Wayne Devine’s tireless efforts and persistence, the Liberty Swing can be enjoyed by children in wheelchairs and people with other disabilities that preclude them from using a conventional swing.
Wayne now faces his toughest battle in trying to convince local councils to install the swing into council parks and seeing that the Liberty Swing receives Approval and Accreditation for installation in as many convenient locations as possible.
So if you would like to see more Liberty Swings in your area, put pen to paper and ask your local councillor.
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