Abstract

This article introduces several pieces of fragmentary historical evidence to widen the evidential base from which theoretical reflection on the historical development of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) in New Zealand can take
place. This task is attempted by two strategies. Firstly, the assembly and consideration of a number of historical fragments about deaf people or policies in New Zealand is made. Secondly, the discussion then turns to a core piece of historical data, focusing specifically on how the number of 42 deaf students near Christchurch in the mid-nineteenth century may have been generated, and how it
feeds into a more general view of the historical development that occurred. The article asks whether the evidence presented satisfactorily supports the current conception of sign language development in New Zealand, or whether a broader conception might be useful in gaining insights into the way NZSL has emerged over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

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