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Story: Te Arawa

An influenza warning

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An influenza warning

This warning in Māori about influenza (mate rewharewha urutā), issued by the Health Department in 1924, also advises on the care of patients. Diseases such as influenza, and tuberculosis brought back from Europe by returned First World War soldiers, hit Te Arawa very hard, and many people died.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: MS-Papers-0151-17-13

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

Paul Tapsell, Te Arawa – European impact, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/1547/an-influenza-warning (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Paul Tapsell, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.