90 Years Of Serving The Mt Eden Community

We are proud to continue the tradition of personalised family medicine at Mount Eden Medical Centre, which has operated from 457 Mt Eden Road since June 1931 in a house that was built some time prior to 1882. No other general practice in New Zealand has functioned for so long in the same premises.

The practice was founded by husband-and-wife team, Dr Edward Roche and Dr Barbara Roche. Cardiology was Edward’s great interest and it is probable that he carried out New Zealand’s earliest electrocardiograms, at 457 Mount Eden Road.

They started practice in the Great Depression and Edward later recounted,

“It was right in the middle of the slump and things were very tough then. In our first month, we took £16. We stuck it out and eventually it was a big practice. In the first year, we made more money from playing cards, than we did from fees!”

The practice building was extensively altered in 1976, joining the house at 459 Mt Eden Rd and adding the new building that now holds most of the doctors’ consulting rooms. This was done without altering the essential character of the original building.

A formal partnership, Mount Eden Medical Centre, was established in 1950 – the first group practice in Auckland.

Over 90 years of serving the Mt Eden community, Mt Eden Medical Centre has only had 18 partners. The current seven partners have more than 190 years of general practice experience between them.

On retiring in 2001 after 45 years at Mt Eden Medical Centre, Dr Tom Marshall said,

“I thought I would never retire and keep on working because it is such a good job. I’ve never had a day I’ve never wanted to come to work.”

For a detailed history of the practice, click here.