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IN CONVERSATION WITH
TIMOTI TE MOKE – Doctor, author, activist
11 August, 2025
When he was six years old, Timoti Te Moke (Ngāti Rangitihi, Tapuika and Ngāti Kurī) was removed from the loving care of his grandparents into the legal custody of his birth mother and stepfather. From a culturally rich, nurturing environment to unfathomable abuse. The young bright boy who had shown such promise at school was now isolated, alone and fighting to survive. What followed was prison, boot camp, gangs and drug addiction. Those charged with his care – including police and government agencies, ignored the signs and wrote him off. His book, The Unlikely Doctor, is an extraordinary chronicle of resilience and hope in the face of adversity and injustice. At 56, Te Moke – after training and working as a paramedic in a racist and toxic environment – would graduate as a doctor from the University of Otago Medical School. What happens next? He talks with Sarah Daniell about why being the Number One bestseller in Aotearoa is not the end-game – he’s on a mission for the greater good.