Timeline

In 1966, at a public meeting of Wellington businessmen, Sir John Mowbray, the first CEO of the National Bank, and Dr Tim Williams, a Wellington physician, took up the challenge to create an organisation for people with arthritis.

The Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation was established, and what was supposed to be a three-month term for Sir John, turned into a 14-year presidency. 

They believed that providing information to all New Zealanders living with Arthritis would help those affected manage their condition and have better access to pain relief.

The foundation needed visibility, profile and a cash injection to ensure its sustainability. 

The Arthritis Telethon was the perfect answer.

It was hosted by celebrity Peter Sinclair and featured icons such as David McPhail, Fred Dagg and Tina Carline. A memorable moment was when Fred Dagg, Dougal Stevenson and Roger Gascoigne hit the floor to do push ups. The telethon raised $3.3 million for the Foundation.

Ecstatic with the result, the Foundation set about building infrastructure and networks to facilitate much needed care and treatment for those with arthritis.

In 1983 The Right Honourable Brian Talboys who served as Deputy Prime Minister for the first two terms of Robert Muldoon's premiership agreed to be National Chairman of the Appeal Committee. He initiated the first nationwide appeal with collectors going door to door. The target was $500,000 – and thanks to the raised awareness of arthritis, and the work of more than 20,000 volunteer collectors, donations exceeded the goal.

Thanks to the funding boost from the 1983 appeal, the Arthritis Research Fund was established in 1986, and the name of the organisation was changed to The Arthritis Foundation of New Zealand Incorporated.

The first major awareness campaign Move it or Lose it was launched in 1988. The following year saw the highly successful Broken Glass in Your Joints launched on TV.

Many famous New Zealanders leant their names to the cause, including basketballer Kenny McFaden, members of the ASB netball team, rugby players and Dick Tayler, promoting exercise and a healthy lifestyle as a way to minimise the effects of Arthritis conditions.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis affects many young New Zealanders. In 1990, The Foundation formed the Kids with Arthritis Support Group. This promoted a sense of peer support among young people living with the condition, created a space for them to enjoy life together in situations unrestricted by arthritis, and helped other New Zealanders to understand that the stereotype of arthritis as ‘an old person’s disease’ was a perception which needed correcting.

By the time The Arthritis Foundation of New Zealand celebrated its 25 year Silver Jubilee Anniversary, the organisation had grown significantly in scale and capability. In 1991 it was supporting people with over 100 different types of rheumatic disease through its 30 Field officers, and was providing health and education programmes, as well as significant funding into arthritis related research. Well known names such as Kathie Smith and Arthur Lydiard were on hand to help with the celebrations.

In 2001 the dove in the hand logo was replaced with the vibrant orange and purple Arthritis New Zealand. However it wasn’t only the look of the organisation that would change. In 2002, an internal restructure proved to be highly controversial, widely debated, and involved the disestablishment of Regional Divisions. Debate raged at the Annual General Meeting, but finally resulted in a Constitution acceptable to the Divisions, under which they retained control of their local assets. The reorganisation was critical to the future of the organisation. In 2002 the organisation’s first website was launched. 

In March 2011, Arthritis New Zealand decided to change the way it delivered services and reduced on-the-ground operations to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. This was controversial and not universally welcome because it involved transferring support delivery away from individual consultations, and towards phone-based and group events. This was based on financial savings for the organisation, an increasingly crowded donation space for charities, and the realities of best providing information, advice and support for people with arthritis.

In 2016 Arthritis NZ transitioned to a charitable trust. Over the following few years Arthritis NZ gradually developed in the digital world. But it was the Covid pandemic in 2020 that saw digital communications become vital to the support offered to people. 

The Covid years included the launch of the Arthritis Assist programme with an 0800 number providing trained health coaches, a registered nutritionist, a psychologist  and a pharmacist who provide a support service for anyone living with arthritis as well as those who care for them. 

These years also saw the development of webinars and podcasts, and private Facebook groups that have thousands of members in some cases.

Māori and Pasifika people have a disproportionately high incidence of gout and the Board made its management one of the key priorities. 

At the same time, the organisation was continuing to develop its advocacy services and community engagement. It lobbied hard to making sure the voices of people with arthritis were heard by decision-makers.

In 2025 came a further evolution with the rebrand to Arthritis NZ Mateponapona Aotearoa, with a new logo - the tohu - and completely redesigned website, to better reflect the organisation’s mission, improve accessibility to information, and support people living with arthritis, their whānau, and health professionals. 

2026 sees the 60th anniversary of Arthritis NZ Mateponapona Aotearoa. We have always striven to provide an excellent service to people living with arthritis. Everybody along this journey, from the staff, to donors and support group members, to people on the Facebook pages today, has shared a passion to provide solutions for people living with arthritis and make a positive difference to their lives.