This $11m unit was opened in 1991 and provided Whangarei Hospital with a modern and spacious 6 theatre facility. It replaced the cramped and outdated theatres on level 4 of the central services wing which had served the hospital since phase 1 was built. It is interesting to note that the first operating theatres served the hospital for about 60 years before they were replaced, the phase 1 theatres lasted 20 years, and the modern theatre unit barely 10 years before its current reconfiguration was begun.