Waikato Deaf Society Inc History

I came across these photos while scanning photos from the late Leslie Wood’s folders. I am very perplexed about what happened, who these people were, and where about in the rural?

One day, I visited a deaf older man, John K., who had moved back to New Zealand from Australia about three years ago. I asked John if he remembered these photos and his memory returned slowly. John remembered that he was sleeping in the back of the car on the way to one of the Deaf member’s places for something like a birthday party.

So, the Waikato Deaf members of the Waikato Deaf Society went to Keren Scott’s 21st birthday party at Keren’s parents’ farm. If this is correct about who the car belongs to, John was sleeping in the back seat of Rex Chester’s car. Somehow, there was a human error of driving along the rural road into an unfamiliar area and taking the wrong turn off down the hill. John woke up bumping up and down, which made him frightened. John is trying to remember if he stayed at someone else’s place overnight. The following day, many Deaf members arrived to see the car at the bottom or nearly the bottom of the hill and were unable to drive up to the rural road because the car was struck.