Framed Suit: International Deaf Games, Washington 1965 — SignDNA - Deaf National Archive New Zealand

Framed Suit: International Deaf Games, Washington 1965

One of the main events in 1965 for the Hawkes Bay Deaf Club was the trip of the Forman brothers, Ray and Merv Forman to Washington D.C. for the World Deaf Games. A team of 17 athletes attended the Games, with Ray and Merv representing New Zealand at the men’s indoor basketball. This suit has been framed and can be viewed at the Hawkes Bay Deaf Club’s clubroom.

They played five games, losing big to U.S.A., Finland and Canada. However their games against Belgium and Israel were very close, losing to Israel by only 54-45. The New Zealand men’s indoor basketball team placed sixth.

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NZSL story – Taonga source: Ruth Jessep

From Lions Club to Taradale: Ruth’s Time with Hawke’s Bay Deaf Club

Ruth moved to Napier in 1982 and first met the local Deaf community through its Christmas events. At the time, the group met at the Lions Club premises. When the Taradale building was purchased, members of the Hawke’s Bay Deaf Club came together to renovate the space, pulling down walls to make it larger and more Deaf-friendly. Ruth later joined the committee and helped plan the 10th anniversary of the club’s new home before moving to Auckland.

Merv Forman

Ray Forman

Relevant Links

Taonga source:

Hawkes Bay Deaf Club

Reference number:

SignDNA – Deaf National Archive New Zealand, 016-O-HBDC

Copyright status:

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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This item has been compressed and/or edited.

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