At 10am on 2 July 1988 a group of 8 women met at what was Rangimarie (Medlands Backpackers) through concern for woman in violent domestic situations. Some were being asked to help with specific incidents and some were just concerned that it was happening. At the time there were no resources in the community to support those who were trying to help apart from our overworked visiting doctor and resident nurse.
The founding members were: Robyn Roberts, Fenella Christian, Denise Rands-Trevor, Lynn Dunnett, Cathie Locker, Sue Eves, Jelly Davenport, Beverley Blackwell.
These 8 women had the vision to set up the Aotea Family Support Group and to develop many relevant resources for the Great Barrier Island community. All those resources proved their worth and with time and new input the resources have become more grounded and richer, new resources were added and the services of the Aotea Family Support Group expanded.