A number of key events took place in the history of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. This article explores critical developments and debates in the lead up to the 1986 Turangawaewae conference at which the bi-cultural structure of the Association first emerged. The proceedings of the conference itself are examined and the subsequent establishment of a unique system of accountability for ANZASW members discussed. These events are considered significant in the shaping of the Association’s current structure, bi-lingual Code of Ethics (ANZASW, 2015), its competency assessment processes and in its contribution to the era of professional registration.While it is impossible to clearly delineate a beginning point, the article picks up the Association’s story in 1984. It is told from the perspective of the first two Manuhiri Caucus Presidents, Sarah Fraser (1986-1988) and Lynne Briggs (1988 – 1990), and gives voice to some of the participants involved through reference to documents and communications of the time. Other than the points at which the histories of the Manuhiri (later renamed as Tau Iwi) and Tangata Whenua (later renamed as Tangata Whenua Takawaenga o Aotearoa) caucuses intersect, it is the authors’ view that the important and ground breaking history of the Tangata Whenua Caucus is not theirs to relate.