Te Pakanga O Whau – The Battle of Whau: Drama by Kelston School for the Deaf

The opening of Kelston on a site in Archibald Road featured the infamous ‘Te Pakanga o Whau’ (The Battle of Whau) in 1959 where 86 deaf students acted in an outside play featuring a Māori-Pakeha battle near a big gum tree field. All scripting, action and costume production for the performance on 7 November 1959 was contributed by staff and pupils of the school, achieving an impressive scale of production. All roles were performed by Deaf pupils.