Video file
The 1949 visit to New Zealand of international table tennis stars Victor Barna and Richard Bergmann was filmed by the government's newsreel service. Here the two men play novelty matches against locals under self-imposed handicaps. They jointly held the men's doubles world title in 1939, along with numerous other international titles. The tour attracted enthusiastic audiences and helped to popularise table tennis in this country.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference: Weekly Review 421. National Film Unit, 1949
Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.