Akenehi Hei - the first Maori nurse

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Manatu Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

One of the few Maori nurses back in the early 20th centry was Akenehi Hei, who was appointed as the district nurse to Maori communities in Northland, Rotorua, Taranaki and Whanganui. In the above photo she is pictured outside a tent hospital in 1909 or 1910.

Born around 1878 she identified with the Te Whakatohea and Te Whanau-a-Apanui Iwi. She was educated at the St Joseph's Maori Girls College.

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