BOPDHB History Whakatāne Hospital History Book | Page 27

CHAPTER

3

THE PEOPLE
Ui mai koe ki ahau he aha te mea nui o te Ao?
Māku e kī atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata!
Ask me what is the greatest thing in the world?
I will reply it is people, it is people, it is people!

People are the most important component in almost every endeavour. This was very true
back in the early years of the 20th Century when Nurses and Doctors were asked to live in
isolated, poorly serviced areas of New Zealand to provide essential health services to the
scattered European and Māori populations in the district. At this time their tasks were not
made any easier by the fact that many European diseases were having a devastating effect
upon a Māori population that had no natural immunity to these diseases and isolation forced
many to depend on traditional methods of healing, often with little effect.
Mission Nurse Ada Jane North,
Sister-in-Charge and
District Nurse, 1913-1927

Mission Nurse Ada Jane North. Photo: Whakatāne
District Museum & Gallery (10648)

Page 22