The Incredible Story Of The Best Blind Wrestler The World Has Ever Seen Due For Release In New Zealand Shortly

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The paternal grand-daughter of one of the greatest amateur wrestlers New Zealand has ever seen has self-published a book on his incredible and inspiring life and the book will go into all good book stores next month (September 2006).

Against the odds Frederick William Adams, who was also known as ‘Bill’ and ‘Googa’, became one of the best wrestlers in New Zealand history even though he was clinically blind. His feats included winning the national title in the highly contested lightweight division nine times, beating a heavyweight on more than one occasion, and competing in a National Championships aged 61. 

Adams was also selected for the New Zealand Wrestling team to compete at the 1950 Empire Games team in Auckland, but was controversially dropped. Eager to see how he would have fared had he not been dropped, he still challenged Australian wrestler Dick Gerrard, Australia’s most successful amateur wrestler ever at an unofficial bout at the Games, the result of which the author remains guarded about.

“It would ruin the story if I were to tell you what happened, you will just have to read the book to find out!” she teases.

Yvette Adams who is the paternal grand-daughter of Bill Adams says she has felt compelled to write the book for a very long time, but only got around to it when she finished seven years of living, working and travelling around the world, predominantly as a freelance journalist, 18 months ago.

“Although I was only 12 when he died, I understood early on that my grandfather was no ordinary man, and a vast number of people from all walks of life have insisted on telling me stories about him for many years after he died. So in 1996 I began researching and writing his story and was surprised to discover a number of articles and mentions in sporting almanacs about the Empire Games incident. Since then I have been writing and gaining the life experience I felt it also required to do justice to it.  As a 29-year-old female with perfect vision I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a challenge to write about a blind male wrestler from a completely different era to me, but I am really happy with how it has come out. ”

Adams was born to a New Zealand World War I soldier and an English woman in Lyme Regis, Dorset 1919. On the ship journey out to New Zealand as a baby, he contracted English measles which left his corneas permanently scarred, and rendered him with severely impaired vision for the rest of his life.

A sight disability, World War II tough upbringing which saw him leave home at age 13, or the Depression did not stop Adams enjoying an exceptionally long-lasting and eventful sporting career.

“I truly hope that his incredible life story will inspire people to get over whatever it is that is holding them back and live life with true passion,” says Yvette Adams who was born and bred in Wellington, but who now lives in Queensland, Australia.

The mother of a two year old and due her second child in January, Adams says she has thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of self-publishing, and will be encouraging other people to self-publish and record their family and local area histories as well as sharing the insights into her illustrious career as a freelance journalist for publications around the world when she travels to New Zealand from 7 – 14 September on a promotional tour.

$1 of every sale of the book More Than Meets The Eye in New Zealand is the Royal NZ Foundation for the Blind. For more information or to buy the book online see: www.morethanmeetstheeye.co.nz.

 

Members of the public and media are welcome to attend the book’s official launch at the Auckland City Library (ground floor, 44-46 Lorne Street, Auckland City) on Wednesday 13 September at 6pm for a 6:30pm start. No cost to attend but RSVPs essential. RSVPs to the library before Monday 11 September on (09) 377 0209 or [email protected].

Article written by Yvette Adams

Born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Yvette Adams is the paternal grand-daughter of one of the best wrestlers New Zealand has ever seen, Bill Adams (AKA Googa), who also happened to be blind.
Yvette's writing career began when she was nine when she she had a poem on whales published in the kids section of her city’s major daily newspaper. At age 16, whilst a New Zealand age-group representative in water polo, she had various pieces published in the Evening Post's sports section, sharing her experiences to do with competing against Australia. She “fell into” PR & communications when she was hired to work for the New Zealand Government's sports agency, then called the Hillary Commission, in 1995. Her contacts and interest in health and fitness lead to more articles being published in a variety of sports and fitness magazines. Whilst engaging in a post graduate level Diploma in Journalism extra-murally, she was first published in a glossy mag, New Zealand's She & More, with a piece on hand modelling in 1997. In 1998 at age 21 she donned a backpack and left New Zealand to see the world, igniting an on-going passion for travelling. With London as her base, she travelled extensively throughout the world for the next seven years, visiting over 40 countries and completing three round-the-world trips, one of which was fully funded by a travel agency to which she submitted regular travel articles to publish on their website. In between her travels worked in temp roles and as a freelance writer for travel guides, magazines, newspapers and websites, including stints as the online editor for TNT Magazine, and as managing editor of New Zealand News UK. In October 2004 she returned to the southern hemisphere with her partner Steve and their one-year-old son Rio, settling on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, where she finally got around to finishing her debut self-published book, More Than Meets The Eye which will go into all good book stores in NZ in September 2006. She continues to freelance write for a variety of publications including LIFE Weekly of the Gold Coast and SALT magazine of the Sunshine Coast and offers her PR, marketing, graphic design, photography, web and writing services to a varierty of entrepreneurs and businesses internationally through her own business The Creative Collective. She was announced as a finalist in the Sunshine Coast Business Womens Awards in July 2006.