Culture and some form of cultural divide seem to be recurrent themes running through the short history of health interpreting services in New Zealand. It may be said that it was language and cultural communication breakdown which led to the establishment of both the first health interpreting services and health interpreter training courses, about a decade ago now. Since the establishment of the first interpreting service, New Zealand has seen an upsurge in immigration and the demand for health interpreters has grown exponentially. This paper takes a brief look at the developments that led to the establishment of the first health interpreting service in New Zealand. It also reports on a small pilot survey conducted among health interpreters in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, in 2001.