NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Health stalwart Paul Cressey dies in freak accident on Waiheke Island

Georgina Campbell
By Georgina Campbell
Senior Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
28 Jun, 2020 07:50 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Paul Cressey, 80, died after falling and striking his head at a Waiheke Island restaurant on Tuesday. Photo / Supplied

Paul Cressey, 80, died after falling and striking his head at a Waiheke Island restaurant on Tuesday. Photo / Supplied

One of New Zealand's great health champions and reformers has died in a freak accident after tripping and hitting his head.

Paul Cressey, 80, served as a Counties Manukau District Health Board member for 12 years and dedicated his life to child cancer after his own son died of leukaemia.

The freak incident happened after Cressey had enjoyed lunch on Waiheke Island on Tuesday with close friends and his wife Sheryn, who he has been married to for 54 years.

His son, Mark Cressey, said doctors and nurses worked on his father for 13 hours.

"Not only did they allow us to have access beside him for that whole time, they never ever gave up and they did it so respectfully.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The health professionals were just incredible."

Paul Cressey, 80, served on Counties Manukau District Health Board member for 12 years. Photo / Supplied
Paul Cressey, 80, served on Counties Manukau District Health Board member for 12 years. Photo / Supplied

In 1979 Paul Cressey's son, Carl, was diagnosed with leukaemia, which was the start of his 10-year association with the Child Cancer Foundation, including three years as chairman.

The family travelled to Australia in 1980 to get a bone-marrow transplant for Carl where they stayed in a Ronald McDonald House.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On his return to New Zealand, Cressey successfully set about getting Ronald McDonald Houses in this country.

Sheryn Cressey said the death of their son Carl, at just age 9, was the driving force behind her husband's work.

"When he died I guess we were all so heart-broken you sort of felt you needed to carry on and give back something, and Paul was like that. That's where it all started, with Carl.

"If it hadn't been for Carl I'm sure we would have just carried on as an ordinary family."

Discover more

New Zealand

Middlemore Hospital investigates machine fault before patient later died

30 Jun 12:20 AM

In 2007 Paul Cressey was honoured for services to child cancer, being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

A humble man to the end, he only agreed to accept it on behalf of the Foundation.

"I just felt so honoured they wanted to recognise him. I'd seen all the hard work he'd put in", Sheryn Cressey said.

He never wore the medal apart from the day he was given it.

Mark Cressey said his father was proud of the medal because it represented an acknowledgement the organisation he worked for was worthy of such an honour.

But he saw it differently.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Dad, that was New Zealand honouring you for the damn hard work, the long nights, the frustration, the doggedness, the drive, and the belief that doing what was right was important, and that was more important than the door handles on our house", Mark Cressey said.

The family was building a house at the time of the honour and didn't have a handle on their bathroom door for years, because Paul Cressey was so busy helping others.

A pharmacist by trade, he paid a locum to come in one day a week so he could focus on his charity work, unbeknown to his family.

Life Education Trust New Zealand appointed him as a trustee and then as a Life Member.

Paul Cressey was instrumental in securing more trailers to travel around the country, introducing Harold the Giraffe to more children.

He was also the Chairman of the Howick Community Menz Shed and was involved in acquiring and setting up their first shed, which is due to be opened this coming month.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Paul Cressey was a visionary, but he also had another side to him - he was quite the prankster.

His daughter Charmaine recalls the days when, on special occasions, her dad would drive her to school instead of catching the bus.

"He would make sure he stopped right on the front gate, and had great amusement in parking beside a lamp post so I couldn't open my door.

"Seeing me get more frustrated, he would inch forward and ask what the problem was knowing full well I couldn't open my door.

"Finally after begging, I would get out only to watch him in great embarrassment to proceed to bunny hop over the school crossing."

Up until Paul Cressey died, he worked on a health system product catalogue to be a single source of standardised information that hospitals and health providers could access.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ministry of Health Data and Digital Deputy-Director General Shayne Hunter said Paul Cressey had been on a mission to do this for years.

"His energy, passion and commitment was what inspired me. He never wanted to give up", he said.

The catalogue would have been useful in Covid-19, as varying labels were used for masks resulting in some incorrect ordering of PPE.

"It's a critical part of the future of the system and optimising our supply chain and building resilience in any future pandemic," Hunter said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

KahuUpdated

'Leadership loneliness': Hansen on pressures of All Blacks role

12 May 07:16 PM
New Zealand

$100M Maths Budget Questioned, Police Porn Probe, US-China Tariff Cut | NZ Herald News Update

New Zealand

Flagship fundraiser returns as homelessness crisis deepens in Auckland

12 May 07:00 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Leadership loneliness': Hansen on pressures of All Blacks role

'Leadership loneliness': Hansen on pressures of All Blacks role

12 May 07:16 PM

Foster faced intense media pressure but credited his whānau for support.

$100M Maths Budget Questioned, Police Porn Probe, US-China Tariff Cut | NZ Herald News Update

$100M Maths Budget Questioned, Police Porn Probe, US-China Tariff Cut | NZ Herald News Update

Flagship fundraiser returns as homelessness crisis deepens in Auckland

Flagship fundraiser returns as homelessness crisis deepens in Auckland

12 May 07:00 PM
Child ended up in Starship while living in damp Kāinga Ora home

Child ended up in Starship while living in damp Kāinga Ora home

12 May 07:00 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP