Two Aboriginal brothers have opened the first barber shop at Ceduna in decades

Brothers Tjerayh and Tjeryan Coleman-Ware started cutting hair in their back shed — now they operate the first barber shop in Ceduna for five decades.The shop doubles as the only 100 per cent Aboriginal owned and operated shop on the town's main street.Tjerayh was 15 years old when he first started using the clippers and is trying to meet a need he experienced as a younger person."Just growing up with all the brothers and all that, there was no one to cut our hair, so we'd just take it in turns cutting each other's hair," he said."I started to enjoy it a bit more than them.Tjerayh Coleman-Ware was the first brother to pick up the passion for barbering. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Charlotte Martin)"I just like seeing someone come in and their hair might be all over the place and maybe not feeling too good about how they look and all that. And then after leaving the chair you know, they feel better about themself."As his passion grew, Tjerayh started cutting hair out of the shed at his family home.Watching on, was younger brother Tjeryan."Just seeing him cut hair, makes me want to try and I guess that's what got me in," he said.Tha Bruthaz Barbershop in Ceduna had a start in the family shed and now has a place in the main street. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Charlotte Martin)In 2024 Tjerayh heard Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation (CAC) was offering the chance for locals to complete a Certificate Three in Beauty and Barbering.CAC is a community-controlled not-for-profit corporation aimed at social and economic reform for Aboriginal people in the Ceduna region.The Coleman-Ware brothers both completed the course together in 2025, receiving their qualification in 2026 with a dream to open their own shop."We pretty much flew through everything as quick as we could," Tjerayh recalled.Tjeryan Coleman-Ware learnt the barbering basics from his brother. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Charlotte Martin)Two months ago, the brothers saw a shop come up for lease and decided to take a chance, which younger brother Tjeryan said was worth the risk."It's good, a lot of people showing love, the community showing love, it's nice running a shop in the town that you grew up in I guess," he said.A younger cousin comes into the shop and helps sweep the floors after school, and there is also a stand selling earrings on the counter; jewellery their mother and little sister make.Daniel Newchurch-Lawrie with Tjeryan and Tjerayh inside Ceduna's new barber shop. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Charlotte Martin)Ceduna resident Daniel Newchurch-Lawrie has been getting his hair cut by the Coleman-Ware brothers since the start."He'd cut the boys, our other cousins' hairs just to try it out, he'd always do normal little haircuts and then he started getting … more technical with his hair cutting," he said."First off it was Tjerayh that was the one cutting hairs."We would always come up to him, all the boys would come up to him and say, 'Oh bro you want to give us a haircut', or 'footy's starting soon, we get a haircut from you'."