Tuberculosis and the Maori People of the Wairoa District (1952)
Channel: Archives New Zealand
Date: 2012-10-08

THE NEW ZEALAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PRESENTS A NATIONAL FILM UNIT PRODUCTION TUBERCULOSIS AND THE MAORI PEOPLE OF THE WAIROA DISTRICT


Falling on 24 March each year is World Tuberculosis Day. This day is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis, and efforts to eliminate the disease. 

Tuberculosis has played a major factor in New Zealand society, especially for Māori. As Te Ara notes, an "East Coast study in 1935 showed the mortality rate for Māori suffering from tuberculosis was around 10 times the rate for Pākehā. The disparity was about the same in 1947. In this period tuberculosis was the single highest cause of death among Māori." This was to due to socio-economic factors, leading to poor living conditions, overcrowding and polluted water supplies.

Thanks to the efforts of a number of Māori organisations and the Department of Health, "the number of Māori deaths from tuberculosis declined steeply between 1945 and 1961." This 1952 film, narrated by respected Ngāti Kahungunu leader Turi Carroll, captures some of the ways tuberculosis was addressed in Māori communities. As NZ On Screen notes, the film "was unique in that it was a collaborative production involving the New Zealand Department of Health, the Ngāti Kahungungu Tribal District Committee and the National Film Unit." As a result, the film provides a unique snapshot into Māori iwi structures, marae, and living conditions during the 1950s.

Archives Reference: ARNZ 25035 / 200566
http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=24041127

More information on the history of Māori health can be found at http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/te-hauora-maori-i-mua-history-of-maori-health 

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Material from Archives New Zealand


Made with the help of MR. TURI CARROLL and the Ngati Kahungunu Tribal Executive. The Taranaki Mobile X-Ray Unit.

The Maori village of Te Reinga is contrasted with progressive settlements at Huramua and Iwitea; the Taranaki Mobile X-Ray Clinic at work.

DV file of Beta SP telecine of 35mm film- R.1 200,566

35mm film-R.2 200,567

35mm film-R.3 200,568