Babies to Blossoms - Richard Fisher
From transforming fertility medicine in New Zealand to supporting his local community, Richard Fisher’s influence is undeniable.
With a career spanning decades in obstetrics, gynaecology, and fertility medicine, Richard has played a pivotal role in helping families grow across the nation and beyond. Today, he grows flowers rather than embryos and enjoys the vibrant community of Point Wells he and his wife Leigh now call home.
Richard’s connection to the area began in 1993 when he purchased his first property in Point Wells. After two decades of holidaying in Omaha while raising their four children, the Fishers returned to Point Wells nine years ago as permanent residents, building and developing their current property. These days, the family’s lovingly maintained cricket field, complete with a small yet award- winning pavilion, has generously become home to the Matakana Cricket Club and a hub for other local and charitable groups.
Richard dedicated over 40 years to clinical medicine in Auckland, delivering an incredible 4,300 babies. Having co-founded Fertility Associates with Dr Freddie Graham in 1987 he shifted his focus entirely to fertility services in 2003. Responsible for helping create an estimated 29,000 babies, Fertility Associates is now New Zealand’s largest provider of fertility services and has expanded its practice to Malaysia and Thailand. Remarkably, there’s now an average of one IVF-conceived child in every classroom in New Zealand.
Richard’s influence on healthcare doesn’t stop there. As a co-founder of Ascot Hospital in 1998 and chairman of the Ascot Group (later MercyAscot Group) for 20 years, he played a key role in shaping healthcare delivery in Auckland. He now sits on the board of Healthcare Holdings and the Rodney Surgical Centre in Warkworth, where he remains committed to championing the importance of providing local healthcare services to the region. “The provision of a local service to local people is key to the future health of this community, saving hours of travel and inconvenience particularly to the elderly,” Richard shares, noting the need for support from the local community to incite change.
Despite these impressive achievements, Richard remains humble, describing his involvement in the business of medicine as "serendipitous and accidental," while also sharing the interest it has added to his medical career. Richard, along with his Fertility Associates co-founder Dr Freddie Graham, was recognised in the New Years Honours of Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2010 for services to medicine. He also became a Clinical Professor at the Liggins Institute, where he was involved in the institute's philanthropic trust, and acted as President of the Fertility Society of Australia for a period of time.
These days, Richard enjoys a slower, albeit still active, pace of life. When not tending to his Point Wells property, he and Leigh juggle their time between grandchildren scattered across the globe. This year, they spent months in Atlanta, chaperoning their granddaughter Nell Fisher as she filmed for her role in the upcoming season of Netflix hit series, Stranger Things. Balancing equity in grandparent time across continents, Richard jokes, is no small feat, as he heads off on a weekend trip to Wellington to watch another grandchild's dance recital.
Whether hosting cricket matches on the pavilion field or advocating for better local healthcare services, Richard continues to make a meaningful impact on his community. From his groundbreaking contributions to fertility medicine to his enduring commitment to Point Wells, Richard Fisher exemplifies professional excellence, community service, and family devotion.