Whaea ō te Iwi, a New Safe Place for Whānau
Friday 18 October marked the dawn blessing and official opening of the new building Whaea ō Te Iwi (Whānau House), on the Whangārei Hospital campus.
Whaea ō Te Iwi (mother of the people) has five bedrooms with space for up to 20 whānau members and supporting amenity spaces. 
Supporting a whānau member who has been unexpectedly or suddenly admitted to hospital can be a challenging time. The facility provides emergency accommodation for people who have a whānau member admitted on a ward at the hospital.
The original whare was called “Kamana Whare” and was managed by Kamana Trust in the community.
It slept up to fourteen people marae-style, with mattress on the floor. Families of patients from outside Whangārei would be able to use the whānau room free of charge for up to a month at a time and a newly formed voluntary committee would manage the building in conjunction with Māori wardens.
Its purpose was to support whānau and patients’ post-theatre to rest before having to travel home. It then evolved to support dialysis patients and whānau who needed a place to rest while they waited, after dialysing, for the bus up north.
Today, Te Poutokomanawa manages Whaea ō Te Iwi (Whānau House) with the support of other services within Health New Zealand | Te Whatua Ora Te Tai Tokerau. There is a cost of $10 per night for an adult and children under 16 who are accompanied by an adult are free.
Replacing the existing Whānau House situated just south of Carpark 16 was identified as a key stage of the Whangārei Hospital redevelopment.
Planning for the wider Whangārei redevelopment - Pihi Kaha is ongoing.
Health NZ is developing options for the next stages that meet clinical priorities, can be achieved within the budget and deliver modern, fit-for-purpose health facilities that will enable new models of care.
Photo Captions
Dawn blessing of Whaea ō Te Iwi – Kaimahi and contractors gather at dawn for the building blessing and official opening. Puhi Bella Edmond-Norris (left) with Whaea Kathy Diamond (right) led the dawn blessing ceremony.
Te Parawhau kaumatua Fred Tito unveiling the Whānau House name - Whaea ō Te Iwi
Whaea ō Te Iwi – external photo of the building
Other infrastructure work in Te Tai Tokerau
Several improvements to health infrastructure in the Te Tai Tokerau region are underway or have been recently completed.
This includes:
- Stage 2 of the Bay of Islands Hospital (completed 2023)
- Te Kotuku maternity services extension (completed April 2024)
- https://www.northlanddhb.org.nz/news-and-publications/news-2/state-of-the-art-medical-laboratory-a-10-cot-neonatal-unit-and-a-22-bed-paediatric-ward-and-4-bed-paediatric-acute-assessment-unit-at-whangarei-hospital-today/(external link)
- Kaitaia Hospital remediation (underway); and a
- Radiation oncology facility, including LINAC (underway, due to be completed mid-2026).
- Community Mental Health facility Manaia House is due to open 2025.
- The introduction of mobile diagnostics vans and treatment units in the region has made healthcare more accessible.
Health New Zealand’s focus is to provide the health services that the people of Whangārei and Te Tai Tokerau need now and in the future.
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