Malabar beach delivers Sydney first in disability access

In a Sydney first, Malabar will have permanent surf access to wheelchair users in the form of a 60m mat going all the way to the water.

Australian Paralympian wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage launches Australia's first permanent wheelchair path at Malabar Beach. Image: Monique Harmer

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In a Sydney first, Malabar will deliver permanent surf access to wheelchair users.

On Sunday, a 60m mat going all the way to the water was unveiled at Malabar Beach.

The initiative was spearheaded by Rainbow Club Australia, which helps children with disabilities learn to swim.

The mat was installed with the support of Randwick Council and Coogee Lions.

The 60m wheelchair path will make access to Malabar Beach easier for all people with a disability. Image: Monique Harmer

Rainbow Club general manager Catriona Barry, said the extra disability access would be huge, as she described some of the challenges she had seen wheelchair-bound people face.

“I have seen people in wheelchairs having to be piggybacked across the sand to get to the water and I have even seen them having to crawl across the sand,” Ms Barry told the Southern Courier.

Sawyer Langan-Stark (in the chair), and brother Hudson Langan-Stark and Sauvage test out the mat. Image: Monique Harmer

“So I became quite passionate about making something accessible to them, because once they get into the ocean there is all the joy and pleasure of being able to swim.

“People in wheelchairs should be able to get that just as much as anybody else.”

Champion Paralympic wheelchair racer and Rainbow Club ambassador Louise Sauvage knows all too well the struggles a day at the beach can hold.

She said the beach could be a daunting place for people with disabilities and the significance of the new matting was something that should not be underestimated.

Randwick Mayor Kathy Neilson with Sauvage at Sunday’s launch. Image: Monique Harmer

“I don’t go to the beach hardly at all because of the sand,” she said. “It looks nice but it is very hard to get to in a wheelchair.

“What is so great about this new matting is that people in a wheelchair are going to be able to go to the beach and not have to worry about struggling on the sand.

“It is making the beach more inclusive to everyone.”

Of the 140,660 people who live in the Randwick area one in 100 require the use of a wheelchair.

Five year old Sawyer is among those, as he is wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy and as his mum Petra explains the new mat will make a huge difference to her family.

Sawyer and Hudson with parents Petra and Steve, enjoy the opportunity to splash in the water. Image: Monique Harmer

“Prior to having the mat a day at the beach would divide our family, because one of us would have to stay back with Sawyer,” Mrs Langan Stark said.

“For us the mat allows us to do something as a family that wasn’t possible before.”

While the benefits of the equipment are clear, making it a reality was not a simple task. Ms Barry said it took years of campaigning.

“We have been working with Randwick Council on this and we were optimistic last year and then it had to go back to council,” she said.

“We are really thrilled now that they have come to the party and put it in place.”

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The joy was shared by Randwick Mayor Kathy Neilson, who described it as a small project which would make a huge difference.

“We all enjoy a swim at the beach on a hot day and this matting improves ocean accessibility for people in wheelchairs,” she said.

“I’m really proud that the council has been able to work with the community to get this improvement in place.”