Ephpheta: June 1979 (Vol. 2, No. 2)

Some of the items featured in ‘Ephpheta: June 1979 (Vol. 2, No. 2)’:

Invitations to readers to submit drawings to go on the cover of the newsletter. Gerald Koat’s drawing is on this issue.
The first meeting of the working party (so that the work and resolutions of the Canberra Conference be not forgotten) was hosted at St Dominic’s School, Feilding. The group elected Danny Beech as chairman of the working group.
Maureen Seth is now the officially designated reporter for the newly formed Auckland Deaf Association. On Easter Sunday, several deaf people gathered at the Mt. Wellington home of Dee and Greer Twiss to meet two men from Gallaudet College in the U.S.A – Dr Hicks and Dr Davila. They said that they have some deaf Australian students at the College but none from New Zealand as yet.
A deaf youth group which caters for 13-19 year olds has been meeting for about 3 or 4 months now in Auckland. A retreat for Deaf teenagers was also organised at the Passionist Monastery with about 20 people present.

Can you help?

NZSL story – Taonga source: Tony Walton

From New Lynn to Avondale: A Necessary Move

Tony served as President of the New Zealand Association of the Deaf from 1999 to 2003. At the time, the focus was on supporting Deaf youth – not relocating. But when asbestos was discovered in the ceiling of the New Lynn building, with removal costs estimated at $600,000, a major decision had to be made. With support from a funder willing to underwrite the risk, the building was sold and a new location was secured. The Avondale office officially opened in November 1999.

NZSL story – Taonga source: Tony Walton

Tony Walton on Building a More Accessible Deaf Aotearoa

Tony reflects on his involvement with the New Zealand Association of the Deaf (now Deaf Aotearoa). In 1989, during the World Deaf Games, New Zealand had only two or three qualified NZSL interpreters – a serious shortage. NZDSA was strongly sign-based, while the NZAD board leaned more oral. After the Games, Tony joined NZAD as a delegate to learn how it worked, eventually becoming President. His focus was on Deaf youth, leading to the creation of Friends of Young Deaf (FYD), better Māori engagement and involvement with more NZSL interpreters. One key goal was to have 13 interpreters nationwide, giving every major town and city access. Interpreter pay and access were limited back then – very different from today.

Bev Hickson-Snook

Bev Hickson-Snook

Bill (William) Archibald

Bill (William) Archibald

Brian Henry

Danny (Daniel) Beech

Danny (Daniel) Beech

Dee Twiss

Elizabeth Hines (Ooteman)

Elizabeth Hines (Ooteman)

Farrell Cunniffe

Farrell Cunniffe

Father Brian Wegrzyn

Father Brian Wegrzyn

Gerald Koat

Greer Twiss

Gregory Chaplain

Gregory Chaplain

Jackie Davidson (Koat)

Jackie Davidson (Koat)

Jocelyn King

Judith Cunniffe

Judith Cunniffe

June Whiting

Kevin Fielding

Lynette Molenaar

Lynette Molenaar

Maree Carroll (Ward)

Maree Carroll (Ward)

Mary Johnson

Matthew Ward

Maureen Seth

Peter Tait

Rangi Metekingi

Rangi Metekingi

Rebecca Williams

Rebecca Williams

Robyn Cairns

Sally Paul (Robertson)

Sally Paul (Robertson)

Sister Gemma

Sister Maureen

Sister Mercedes

Sister Mercedes

Tony Oswald

Taonga source:

St Dominic’s Catholic Deaf Centre

Reference number:

SignDNA – Deaf National Archive New Zealand, CDC1979-2-2-MJN

Copyright status:

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Note:

This item has been compressed and/or edited.