SignDNA is the home of Aotearoa New Zealand’s visual Deaf history.

The Ivan Curry documentary has prompted the deaf community to insist that professional sign language interpreters be used in all police and court work in future.

Deaf New Zealanders now have access to te reo Māori vocabulary in the Online Dictionary of NZSL, compiled by Victoria’s Deaf Studies Research Unit.

In Hamilton, there are four deaf units, three at Hamilton West and one at Melville Intermediate. Next year there is going to be a deaf unit at Melville High School.

The new Wellington field office is playing its part in other developments of interest to deaf people, such as the spread of total communication and the growing importance of the Wellington Deaf Society.

– and Val Jillings and her deaf family prove it! This is Deaf Awareness Week – so the Quota Club of Auckland will hold week-long displays, video films and discussions in the city’s Downtown Walkway and Centrecourt.

Research on the complex sign language that deaf New Zealanders have created could push education authorities to recognise the language's authenticity. It has taken an American linguist to document the distinctive language.

A Northland advocate is behind a campaign to get deaf-friendly fire alarms installed in public buildings, after a deaf university student was left behind during a drill. Whangarei's Kim Robinson, chairman of Deaf Action New Zealand, is driving the petition to make visual fire alarms - similar to what many deaf people have in their homes - mandatory in public buildings.

A great step forward in what is a unique work of Christian charity and education in New Zealand was taken last Sunday, November 28, with its opening. The additions to the school consist of a splendid new block providing classrooms and dormitories.

The New Zealand volleyball team was missing its top five players when it came up against the Italians in its first match in the World Games for the Deaf. New Zealand went down to the more experienced Italians, 3-0, failing to score any points.

Problems for photographers come in many forms. A prize-winning Christchurch photographer, Dick Poole, had his special worries at the World Games for the Deaf on Saturday. He used several methods to get the look he wanted – a little help from an interpreter, a little push and pull and a few signs.