1986

Here is the story of how Sands first got established in New Zealand, in the words of the person who started it all, Rosemary Westley (formerly Willams) ...

'On February 18th 1986 my beautiful baby daughter Holly was stillborn. It was like nobody had ever had this happen to them before. I found that there was no support and no information on having a stillborn baby. Some of the practices were appalling such as the baby being given to me in a paper shawl, not unlike the paper towels that are found in public toilets. Photos weren't taken, advice wasn't given in those early initial days of even how to prepare the funeral. Emotions were raw and the topic was kept quiet.
After some weeks I had the strong urgency to do something about this. I didn't want anyone to go through what we had gone through. We were very lucky having a fantastic and caring Hospital Chaplin, Rev Eric Kearse. We spoke at great length and decided to have a meeting of those interested in forming a group. The response was great and in the April of 1986 we held the first meeting in Palmerston North. Twenty couples came along and the honesty and friendship and tears were welcomed, and from then on monthly meetings took place.
I still needed to do more. I wanted to write and have something that newly breaved parents could have to help them through those dark days, months and years to follow. I set about researching as much as I could. I came across a book by the famous actress Susan Hampshire, who wrote " A Maternal Instinct" after she had also experienced a stillbirth. I contacted her and gained a huge wealth of information.
After many months of research I was finally satisfied with my work and in 1988 I published the booklet " S.A.N.D.S: A caring guide for parents of stillborn babies and babies that die shortly after birth". Over 3000 copies were printed and they were sent all over New Zealand. That is now 20 years ago and I have been told that there are still some around. That was the first book on such a subject in New Zealand written for New Zealanders.
Since then I have had many enquiries on how to set up a group, permission to write more books and many groups have been formed to help. I feel so very proud that you have all been touched in some way in what I have done and I am so grateful that so many of you have continued to improve and extend the services to those in need. '
 

1997

Indrea Alexander started work as the first (unpaid) national coordinator. Through her efforts and alongside Libby Gairdner Cooney from Sands Waikato the first SANDS conference was held. A national constitution was also developed and implemented.
 

1999

The second national SANDS conference was held in Napier; the theme was 'All Our Babies'.
 

2001

- the third national SANDS conference was held in Wellington; the theme was 'Hidden Treasures'.
 

2003

The fourth national SANDS conference was held in Napier; the theme was 'Past, Present and Future Hope'.
 

2005

The fifth national SANDS conference was held in Wellington; the theme was 'Grieving and Growing'. SANDS' first website was also launched at the conference, this initiative was spearheaded by Tiffiny Hodgson, the Chairperson of SANDS. 
 

2006

SANDS NZ's first paid position was established through the Vodafone World of Difference award. The position was National Projects Coordinator and was held for 12 months by Vicki Culling. This position helped to redevelop SANDS nationally and reinstitute communication amongst the groups and contact people throughout the country. (The funding was for 12 months only so unfortunately at the end of 2006 we returned to having no paid worker/s). We also held our first national training weekend in Wellington in November - thanks to the generosity of the Tindall Foundation
 

2007

From SANDS to Sands - we re-branded! A new logo, new colours and new support packs were introduced. A new pamphlet on the transporting of a deceased baby was also developed and launched. The sixth national Sands conference was held in Christchurch; the theme was 'Living, Loving, Remembering'.
   

2008

Our website was re-designed to incorporate our new branding. The Ministry of Health printed 4000 Sands Support Packs which were distributed by Sands groups around the country. Our third annual national training weekend was held in Wellington on 7-9th November. Over 50 Sands supporters from around the country attended the training!
 

2009

Sands introduced a new resource - the Certificate of Life. This is a certificate primarily for parents whose baby or babies die before 20 weeks gestation, but it is available for all parents. There is an A5 and A4 size certificate. Our seventh biennial conference was held in Auckland in early August. The theme was taken from our strap line 'A Little Life, Not a Little Loss'.
 

2010

We held our fifth national training weekend in Wellington from 20-22nd August. Again, we had over 50 Sands members from around the country attending! We also gave out our inaugural Sands NZ Honorary Life Membership Awards.

Our logo was also slightly changed – to reflect our fully inclusiveness the wording around it was changed from ‘Stillbirth and Newborn Death Support’ to ‘Pregnancy, Baby and Infant Loss Support’
 

2011

Sands New Zealand has now been providing support to families for 25 years.  The Ministry of Health has taken over the printing and distribution of our Sands Support Packs.  This ensures they are readily available for all of our groups are make it easier for any other health providers to access. Our eight biennial conference was held in Wanganui in November, with the theme ‘Lets Talk about it'.
 

2012

We held our Sands NZ National Training in Auckland in August.
 

2013

Our ninth biennial conference was hosted by Sands Waikato and held in Hamilton. The theme was ‘Changed Forever: Forever Changing’.
 

2015

Our tenth biennial conference was hosted by Sands Wellington-Hutt Valley and held in Wellington. The theme was ‘Everyday Courage, Compassion and Connection’.  A new full board was elected and the website was updated to the current design to reflect the new fresh face of Sands New Zealand.
 

2016

Sands New Zealand celebrated 30 years of supporting bereaved parents and whanau in New Zealand. Our Sands NZ National Training was held in Auckland in November where we reflected on our 30 years of "being there" and looked to the future.
 

2017

Sands NZ enabled funding for all groups to receive ongoing public liability insurance to ensure protection for our operations. Our tenth biennial conference was hosted by Sands Bay of Plenty and held in Tauranga. The theme was "Beyond the Waves". In-conjunction with Vicki Culling Associates Sands NZ began offering online training modules to our volunteers.
 

2018

We held our Sands NZ National Training in Hamilton in August.
 

2019

Our eleventh biennial conference was hosted by Sands Canterbury and held in Christchurch. The theme was "Rebuilding Your Life". Sands NZ was proud to contribute to the new government information website for bereaved parents, "Whet?rangitia".
 

2020

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sands adapted to enable us to provide support meetings across the country via videoconferencing.