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Story: Women’s health

Protesting against maternity hospital closure

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Protesting against maternity hospital closure

The closing of small hospitals and centralisation of services in the 1980s meant many women and their families lost the possibility of giving birth close to home. Shown here are demonstrators protesting against the 1989 closure of Elderslea Maternity Hospital in Upper Hutt. Loss of local health services was an issue across New Zealand in this period.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1989/4141/12

by Ray Pigney

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Megan Cook, Women’s health – Health activism and controversies, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/31492/protesting-against-maternity-hospital-closure (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 3 May 2011.