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Story: Primary health care

Rural district nursing

Video file

This district nurse worked on the North Island's East Coast in the 1940s. This 1946 film clip shows some of her regular duties – helping mothers and young children, and attending to the hygiene needs of schoolchildren.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 257. National Film Unit, 1946

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Michael Belgrave, Primary health care – Establishing medical control, late 19th and early 20th centuries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/31521/rural-district-nursing (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Michael Belgrave, published 21 April 2011.