Susie (Suzanne) Ovens

The New Zealand team manager, Tony Walton, reports on the team’s results at the Los Angeles 1985 World Deaf Games including where the team stayed and played at.

The grit! The determination! The hours of practice! Finally it’s game day for the first Deaf Netball New Zealand versus Australia in Manawatu. Watch highlights of the gameplay followed by expert post-match analysis and limbo shenanigans at MDS. Good times.

The Auckland Deaf community gathers for the Miss Deaf Auckland competition, organised by Adrienne Killen. The top three are selected to represent Auckland in the upcoming Miss Deaf New Zealand pageant.

The Auckland Deaf Society Netball team celebrates their 25th Jubilee in April, 2000.

New Zealand team goes to XIV World Games for the Deaf in Köln, Germany in 1981.

This project explores the experiences of Deaf New Zealanders in accessing healthcare and health information. 40 Deaf people from around New Zealand share their stories about barriers in this setting as well as strategies they have used in advocating for their right to access information, communication, and make informed decisions.

Jane Dent reports on the National Sports Convention for the Deaf held in Auckland during Labour Weekend in 1984. The footage screened on the 6:30pm news on Saturday 20 October 1984.

New Zealand sends 30 athletes to the 15th World Games for the Deaf in Los Angeles, with footage of the opening ceremony. The flagbearer for New Zealand was John Ooteman, with Susie Ovens carrying the kiwi mascot. The Gallaudet Dance Company also put on a performance. Footage shows a fly by with a sign saying ‘WELCOME WORLD GAMES FOR THE DEAF’.

Footage of the World Deaf Games in Köln, of New Zealanders in action. Two New Zealand athletes won medals at the games.

The Sign Singers perform 'Harmony' broadcast on Stars on Sunday in February 1983. They are introduced in sign language, in one of the first examples of a non-Deaf person signing on prime time television.

The popular Sign Singers are the first act to perform at the 1981 Telethon Live at the Auckland Town Hall.

The Sign Singers perform the song 'I Hear Your Hand' for the Stars on Sunday programme.

New Zealand athletes stopover at Los Angeles on the way to the World Games for the Deaf in Köln, and make the most of the trip with a visit to Disneyland!

It’s not often we get to see four New Zealanders on the podium at the same time, and that is what we get in this video! It's most certainly time to break out the champagne when the team gets back to their base with a speech by the team manager.