1997
article – Taonga source: NZ Herald
Deaf woman goes to head of class
Struggles in her own schooling as she grew up made profoundly deaf Auckland woman Sarah Cameron want to be a teacher. Her ambition came true yesterday when she became the first deaf person to graduate with a mainstream secondary teacher's diploma.
2006
article – Taonga source: Unknown
Breaking the sound barrier
Growing up in Feilding Della Roache used to like going to the pub to pick up her dad. Now she's the bar manager at the Himatangi Beach Cosmopolitan Club. And she's deaf.
1980
article – Taonga source: The Evening Post
Special help for deaf SC candidates
The special needs of deaf candidates sitting School Certificate will be recognised by the Education Department this year for the first time.
1960
article – Taonga source: The Auckland Star
A winter treat for the deaf
A group of 44 deaf youngsters from Kelston School for the Deaf take a two-day visit to the Ruapehu snowfields.
1993
video – Taonga source: Television New Zealand Archive
Spotlight on Pasifika Deaf
Tangata Pasifika visits Kelston Deaf Education Centre and meets with a number of Pasifika Deaf students part of the school’s transition programme, interviewing Rosie Amituanai and her family.
2014
article – Taonga source: The Wellingtonian
A modern tale of two deaf children
Deaf pupil Rahui Lee, 11, leads the year 7 and 8 class in a sign language game of mastermind, in which pupils have to guess a mystery four-digit number by signing.
Est. 1958
COLLECTIONS – CURATED BY SIGNDNA: DEAF NATIONAL ARCHIVE
Kelston Deaf Education Centre (Ko Taku Reo)
Kelston Deaf Education Centre (now Ko Taku Reo; previously Kelston School for the Deaf). Kelston was established on a site in Archibald Road in 1958. The school had relocated firstly from Titirangi, then from Mt Wellington. KDEC used to provide education in a range of satellite classes throughout Auckland the upper North Island. Kelston, which also hosts Rūaumoko Marae, merged with van Asch Deaf Education Centre to become Ko Taku Reo in 2020.
1983
article – Taonga source: The Evening Post
Speech for the deaf
The Minister of Broadcasting was getting in some last-minute swot on sign language, in preparation for a speech tonight to an audience made up mainly of deaf people.
1987
article – Taonga source: Wellington Deaf Society
Making sense of silence
The play, Children of a Lesser God, opens at Wellington's Circa Theatre next week. The theatre is arranging a special showing of the play, with an interpreter, for deaf people, their families and tutors.
1994
article – Taonga source: City Voice
In the mainstream
Theresa Newson and Maria Griffiths are completely deaf. They are also students at St Catherine's College, Kilbirnie. Their mothers looked at several schools in the Wellington region because they wanted their daughters to stay at home rather than go to Van Asch.
1980
publication – Taonga source: St Dominic’s Catholic Deaf Centre
Ephpheta: June 1980 (Vol. 3, No. 2)
NZSL Stories
1996
video – Taonga source: Television New Zealand Archive
Patrick Thompson discusses upcoming wānanga for Māori Deaf
Patrick Thompson is interviewed on the ‘Marae’ programme, a bilingual Māori and English language current affairs show, about setting up a wānanga to enable Māori Deaf to access te reo Maori and Tikanga Maori.
1992
article – Taonga source: Western Leader
Deaf learn Maori culture
A Maori house of learning for deaf children was opened at the Kelston Deaf Education Centre in Auckland yesterday after many hours of voluntary work by deaf adults and pupils.
1992
article – Taonga source: Nelson Mail
Living in a silent world
This week is Deaf Awareness Week. Nelson Mail reporter interviewed two women from Nelson's deaf community this week: Fliss Maera and Susan Thomas. The Nelson Club has between 25 to 30 members.
NZSL Stories
1985
article – Taonga source: Unknown
Ready to lend helping hands to deaf
The class of eight graduates tonight after four months' study learning the variety of sign language used by New Zealand deaf people.
1985
article – Taonga source: The Evening Post
An ear for the deaf
The 600 people in Wellington at last have their own sign interpreter. Rachel Locker was appointed as sign language interpreter for the deaf on Monday.
NZSL Stories
1974
article – Taonga source: Eastern Suburbs News
Successful integration of the deaf depends on community attitudes
If a New Zealand-born person doesn’t speak good English, people are likely to assume such a person is unintelligent. Such an assumption is wrong when the person is born deaf.
2014
video – Taonga source: Ministry of Education
National Deaf Youth Hui 2014
In August 2014, the Ministry of Education brought Deaf students together from across New Zealand for a weekend of ideas, learning and friendship. The Ministry called the hui to better understand what school is really like for Deaf students and to gather their ideas on how things could be improved. This video captures the workshops, fun activities and growing friendships that happened over the weekend.
1992
article – Taonga source: Unknown
New ideas from London course on teaching
Rebecca was recently chosen, aong with seven other deaf New Zealanders, to attend a two-week training course in London to learn the basic concepts of teaching sign language.
1982
article – Taonga source: NZ Woman’s Weekly
Mime put to use
Susie Ovens, born 97% deaf, uses mime as one of the many methods to relate to the hearing world. She is also a member of the “Deaf Sign Singers”, a group of 11 deaf people who perform sign language to music.
NZSL Stories
1953
article – Taonga source: NZ Tablet
IS THERE NO HOPE AT ALL? Plight of Deaf Children
St. Dominic's is a mile or so on the Palmerston side of Feilding. Set back across the railway line from the highway is a fine old country mansion framed by trees and lawns. At one side are the former barns and stables, now being used as temporary classrooms. On the other side the builders are busy completing new classrooms for use next year; when these are finished they will begin work on the children's new sleeping quarters adjoining.
1997
article – Taonga source: The Dominion
Going in to bat for deaf cricketers
The New Zealand cricket team beat Australia at the Petone Recreation Ground. You would be forgiven for not knowing the match was on. Media coverage, or rather the lack of it, is a major problem for disabled sport.
1978
article – Taonga source: Wellington Deaf Society
Shared Benefits at Sumner
Sumner School for Deaf Children has taken an adventurous step by beginning a trial integration of a class of 'hearing' children into the school.
2018
video – Taonga source: Deaf Children New Zealand
NZSL and Us: Jorja Steele, Christchurch
Jorja loves to interact with Deaf students at her age and is a keen surfer. She uses NZSL at home and with both her Deaf and hearing peers. She attends a regular school, but it doesn’t stop her from being able to mingle with Deaf girls at age. Her mother is determined to allow Jorja to have the best of both worlds – Deaf and hearing.
2012
video – Taonga source: Attitude Pictures
My Deaf Parents
Parents and teenagers don't always see eye to eye, but what if they speak a different language? This CODA family, with Deaf parents, is learning how to keep the lines of communication.
1941-1971
COLLECTIONS – CURATED BY SIGNDNA: DEAF NATIONAL ARCHIVE
The National Film Unit
From 1941 to 1950, the National Film Unit produced the Weekly Review and from 1952 to 1971, the Pictorial Parade. Government owned, the Unit’s work included visits to schools to show the country positive stories about the future of New Zealand and the good work that was being done. This included visits to Sumner and St Dominic’s School for Deaf Children.
biography
Profile
Lynette Pivac (MBE)
In 1996, Lynette was awarded the Member of British Empire for her services in Deaf education and sign language. She mostly initiated the development of NZSL resources, the training of NZSL tutors and involvement in NZSL teaching issues at national level. She advocated for NZSL and Deaf Studies to be introduced into Deaf education and was the first Deaf Board of Trustees Chairperson.
2006
article – Taonga source: Unknown
NZ sign language becomes official – Capital D for deaf?
The room is full of waving hands and exaggerated facial gestures. Even though the room is silent the dozen women are "talking" with each other just as volubly as if they were having a chinwag. It is a women's only class in New Zealand's latest offical language - NZSL.
1987
article – Taonga source: Wellington Deaf Society
A silence full of sounds
Wellington actor Miranda Harcourt who plays Sarah in Children of a Lesser God, understands her character's sentiments. She spent eight months learning sign language before the play opened at Dunedin's Fourtune Theatre in October.
1995
video – Taonga source: Television New Zealand Archive
Michael Wi, Māori Deaf
Michael Wi, is profiled on ‘Marae’, where he shares his experience of growing up as Māori Deaf in a paheka-centric education environment, and learning as an adult about tikanga Māori, and marae protocols.