1987
video – Taonga source: Television New Zealand Archive
‘Spot On’ visits a Deaf basketball training session
The educational TV series ‘Spot On’, visits a Deaf basketball training session to catch up with Royce Flynn and Megan Mansfield, and understand how the sport is played by Deaf athletes, and controlled by a Deaf referee.
NZSL Stories
1995
publication – Taonga source: National Foundation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
NFD Communicate: December 1995
NZSL Stories
1997
article – Taonga source: NZ Herald
Art of surviving in silence
An interview with Abbie Twiss on World Deaf Awareness Day, and the start of New Zealand's National Deaf Awareness Week. Here, Abbie looks out from her Elam studio. "My thoughts go much faster than I can write."
2018
video – Taonga source: Deaf Children New Zealand
NZSL and Us: Diamond Johnson, Hamilton
Diamond is a bubbly and active little girl who loves a challenge. Her whānau embraces all three of New Zealand’s languages: English, Te Reo Māori and NZSL. Her mother is determined to improve her NZSL by attending sign language classes so she that she will be able to communicate with Diamond fully as she grows up. Her whānau has a strong commitment to ensure Diamond is exposed to as much NZSL as possible including access to Deaf role models.
1992
article – Taonga source: The Evening Post
State needs to protect defendant’s right to a fair trial
Curry, who was deaf after suffering meningitis as an infant, spent two years in jail before being brought to trial on a murder charge a jury took just two hours to throw out.
2002
COLLECTIONS – CURATED BY SIGNDNA: DEAF NATIONAL ARCHIVE
The 2nd Asia Pacific Deaf Youth camp
The 2nd Asia Pacific Deaf Youth camp (APDYC) was held from 12-19 January 2002 at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi. Altogether, there were 43 Deaf youths from 12 countries, 15 youth leaders, 10 interpreters and a couple of guest speakers present.
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.
1946
article – Taonga source: NZ Tablet
Making the Deaf Hear and the Dumb Speak: The Splendid Work of St. Dominic’s School, Wellington.
Two years ago, the New Zealand Dominicians opened a Catholic school for deaf children at 15 Dover Street, Island Bay, Wellington. The article records the impressions of a Wellington journalist who visited the school recently.
2017
video – Taonga source: New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters
Te Tiriti o Waitangi in New Zealand Sign Language
This resource was created for the Treaty Times Thirty project, an initiative by the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters to translate New Zealand’s founding document, Te Tiriti of Waitangi into 30 different languages.
1985
article – Taonga source: NZ Herald
Good sign for the deaf
A course to train professional interpreters for the deaf, now being run in Auckland, is the first of its kind in New Zealand.
NZSL Stories
2022
video – Taonga source: Māori Television
Deaf filmmaker aspires to make TV series in sign language
A turi (deaf) filmmaker hopes to create a TV series entirely in NZSL to showcase the language to the world. Jared Flitcroft (Ngāti Maniapoto) enjoys telling stories from all kinds of people and perspectives but says stories from the Māori deaf community are imperative.
1984
article – Taonga source: Southern News
Helping deaf to communicate
There is still much lack of understanding among the general public about the needs of deaf people, says Pat Dugdale, field officer in Wellington for the New Zealand Association of the Deaf.
NZSL Stories
1965
article – Taonga source: The Daily Telegraph
Home – 10-Gallon Hats and All
The New Zealand indoor basketball team at the Deaf Olympics in Washington recently did not win a game. Yet to Napier's Forman brothers, Mervyn and Ray, the experience was one never to be forgotten.
1985
article – Taonga source: The Evening Post
Pam and Kaz take life in their stride
Says Pam: “I think for me I live in two worlds and have two languages, the deaf language and the hearing language. I speak the deaf language because I was brought up with it.”
1987
article – Taonga source: The Dominion
Communicating from a silent world
Jenny Griffiths, the mother of two profoundly deaf children, talks about communicating with them in Total Communication.
1991
article – Taonga source: Unknown
Deaf find unfair hearings in court
Deaf people have had unfair trials through lack of interpreters telling them what is happening in courts.
NZSL Stories
1989
article – Taonga source: Christchurch Star
More than 1300 involved
About 100 interpreters have been trained in Christchurch over the last year. The classes were organised by the hearing people but the deaf were the teachers. It is only the second time that New Zealand sign language has been taught in this country.
NZSL Stories
1996
article – Taonga source: Taranaki Daily News
Lobbying pays off for deaf community
Three years of lobbying for more support has finally borne fruit for the Taranaki deaf community. An office of the Deaf Association opened in New Plymouth this week, to provide needs assessment, information and some interpretation services for deaf people.
NZSL Stories
2012
publication – Taonga source: Oticon Foundation
Soundscape: March 2012
2023
article – Taonga source: Bay of Plenty Times
Deaf couple use sign language to organise building a new house
A new house build can be a challenging time for a young couple. But Gregory and Victoria Lessing are also deaf, and undertook a house build from scratch using NZSL.
1990
publication – Taonga source: New Zealand Deaf News
NZ Deaf News: Autumn/Winter 1990 (Vol. 24, No. 1)
NZSL Stories
2018
article – Taonga source: Stuff
An ‘inspirational’ deaf teacher is teaching sign language to hearing toddlers
One deaf teacher in south Auckland has inspired several toddlers and their parents to learn sign language.
1989
article – Taonga source: The Press
Games crowd pleaser blind and deaf
One of the crowd favourites at the sixteenth World Games for the Deaf has been the blind and deaf wrestler from Canada, Pier Morten. Although being disadvantaged by not being able to see his opponents, Morten fights tenaciously and reacts speedily to holds applied on him.
NZSL Stories
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.
2022
article – Taonga source: Stuff
Signing avatar could help Deaf Kiwis order at fast food drive-throughs
Arash Tayebi’s idea to develop sign language avatar technology is personal. And while Kara Technologies is still in the pilot stage, Tayebi hopes the technology will become easier to access as 24/7 teachers or in emergencies.
2006
video – Taonga source: Ko Taku Reo, Deaf Education New Zealand
NZSL becomes an official language of New Zealand
On 6th April 2006, members of the Deaf community and supporters gathered on the steps of parliament to celebrate the NZSL Bill passing its Third Reading, becoming the NZSL Act (2006). This marked the end of a long journey to give NZSL official status in Aotearoa New Zealand. This footage was screened on TV3 that evening.
2019
article – Taonga source: Manawatū Standard.
Deaf woman helps others learn sign language over a pint
Candice David was only 3 when she lost her hearing. Now, she's helping others learn her only form of communication, NZSL. Candice was at Palmerston North bar Brew Union on Sunday, offering free NZSL tutorials to all patrons.
1996
video – Taonga source: Television New Zealand Archive
A look into the new bilingual approach at Kelston Deaf Education Centre
One of the goals of 1996’s Deaf Awareness Week was to better educate New Zealanders about New Zealand Sign Language, and as part of this, One Network News visited Kelston Deaf Education Centre in Auckland. KDEC which has a new bilingual teaching method using both NZSL and English.
2011
article – Taonga source: Timaru Herald
Deaf call for more interpreters
Christchurch's devastating earthquakes changed the lives of many people. Timaru couple Julie Nielson and Paul O'Donnell could finally turn off their television subtitles thanks to the sign language interpreters who stood beside Christchurch mayor Bob Parker as he addressed the public on a daily basis.
1986
article – Taonga source: Unknown
Silent Communication
Week in, week out, Linda's hands flutter expressively about events from the spectrum of human existence: funerals, trade union meetings, church services, antenatal classes, court cases, visits to doctor and lawyer.
NZSL Stories