A gentle place to talk: Rosehaven unveils new wind phone

Rosehaven’s Board Director, Toni Appleby, unveiled a special new installation in the gardens of the palliative centre last week — a ‘wind phone’. “A lot of people have heard me talk about the wind phone,” she said. “The purpose of our telephone booth and phone is give people a quiet and secluded space to ‘talk’ to their departed loved ones – or just reflect for themselves on where they are at.” Ms Appleby’s connection to palliative care began when her father was dying from cancer and the family came together to care for him at home before he became too ill. “My dad came to live with us for the last part of his life… and it was probably the best time I’ve had with him,” she said. “This was before Rosehaven was established but at the Mansfield hospital my dad was surrounded by all of us.” Her father-in-law, Bob Appleby, was the one who first hoped to establish a palliative care centre in Mansfield and encouraged Toni to be involved. When he later became ill, he told Toni she would need to step in. Although she had no background in palliative care, she took on the role and today serves as a Board Director at Rosehaven. Ms Appleby said that by the time her mother became ill and later passed away, she had learned much more about caring for the dying through her work with the centre. “When you think about what Rosehaven means for families, friends who are going through that journey, it is supporting those grieving,” she said. Ms Appleby explained the ‘wind phone’ was first created by Japan’s Itaru Sasaki in Otsuchi following his cousin’s death, and later became a place for residents to speak their grief aloud after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The booth — containing a disengaged analogue phone — offered people a place to talk freely, to express their emotions and find moments of connection during overwhelming loss. “The telephone in Rosehaven’s ‘booth’ was first in my grandmother’s house and then in my mum’s home — always in the entrance hall. It has a special meaning and now can be used by anyone who needs to use it,” Ms Appleby said. The wind phone provides a quiet, safe space to talk through feelings of grief, share thoughts with those who have been lost, or simply speak aloud without being overheard. “We know that speaking about our people, speaking to other people is great, but sometimes that’s not always possible,” she said. “So sometimes just being able to speak, even if we think no one’s there, can be therapeutic and it can aid in the healing process by allowing people to express their emotions and find a sense of connection.” The wind phone booth has been dedicated to Ms Appleby’s parents, with the plaque reading: “In loving memory of Yvonne and Dennis Kennedy who shared a love of a good chat. May every whisper on this wind phone find its way home, carrying your words on the breeze and keeping your connection alive. This wind phone has been donated with love to honour their memory.” The wind phone idea has since spread around the world. Rosehaven’s wind phone sits near the memorial garden at the north end of the grounds and is open to anyone who needs a peaceful moment of reflection. Inside is an old chair, the family phone and a visitor book for those who wish to record their thoughts. Ms Appleby asked dedicated volunteer Nerida Nikkelson to help unveil the phone booth — an old-fashioned red telephone box that is now a gentle space for connection, memory and quiet conversation.

A gentle place to talk: Rosehaven unveils new wind phone

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