Our Story

In 1931, the Rotorua-based district nurse Robina Cameron was confronted by high Māori infant and maternal mortality rates, an alarming prevalence of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.  She became the president of the Women’s Health League – Te Rōpū o Te Ora, at its first conference at Tūnohopu Marae in 1937.

Māori and Pākehā women of Rotorua helped Nurse Cameron in her work and Nurse Cameron also consulted Te Arawa leaders who supported meetings and clinics to educate Māori about health, hygiene and home making skills—the objectives of Te Rōpū o Te Ora.  She also developed a maternal infant care program specifically designed for Māori (which has been used as the Tipu Ora Resource Kit over the last two decades).

In September 2018 Te Rōpū o Te Ora held its 81^st annual meeting at Tūnohopu Marae, attended by representatives from around the country.

The Nurse Cameron Memorial Trust was set up in 1985 and its trustees—Pihopa and Inez Kingi, Hariata Paikea, Anne Barham, Dr Bert Sill, Mihi Tule, Augustus Rerewa Meha and Annette Sykes—opened the Tūnohopu Health Centre on August 30, 1986 with two GP’s, Māori healers, a natural health therapist, a community worker, and a Public Health Nurse. It fulfilled Inez’s vision for ‘Western trained and traditional Māori healers working side by side.’