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Story: Health practitioners

Māori nurses, 1943

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Māori nurses, 1943

Four Māori nurses from the St John voluntary ambulance organisation attend the opening of Tawakeheimoa, the centennial memorial meeting house at Te Awahou marae in Rotorua, in April 1943. The earliest registered Māori nurse found so far, Mereana Tangata, registered in 1896. A number, including Akenehi Hei, were involved in a scheme to train Māori women in nursing around the turn of the 20th century.  Māori nurses became an important part of the district nursing scheme in rural areas.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, John Dobrée Pascoe Collection (PAColl-0783)

Reference: 1/4-000240-F

by John Dobrée Pascoe

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Allison Kirkman, Health practitioners – Māori and Pacific health practitioners, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/28346/maori-nurses-1943 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Allison Kirkman, published 29 March 2011, updated 28 April 2026.