Sir Collin Tukuitonga has long been a well respected doctor and Pasifika health leader in the Pacific region. Photo / Natalie Slade
Sir Collin Tukuitonga has long been a well respected doctor and Pasifika health leader in the Pacific region. Photo / Natalie Slade
As a young boy growing up on the island of Niue, Sir Collin Fonotau Tukuitonga never dreamed he would one day be given a knighthood.
His name is one many people around the Pacific, in particular, and within the Pasifika community in New Zealand know well; for his long service and dedication to public health in the Pacific region and its peoples.
Today he is named a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to Pacific and public health.
Tukuitonga, who hails from the village of Alofi North, describes a key moment in his childhood that helped inspire him to choose a life in medicine.
"I remember seeing this palagi doctor come to our house - big fella in a van - to see maybe my grandfather or someone in the family.
"He had a stethoscope and a bag and I thought: 'Oh, that's really cool'.
"He was popular on the island and people liked him because he make people better, so it went. I guess I was curious at an early age."
Dr Collin Tukuitonga pictured in Niue in the early 80s doing the 'island round' - when local doctors would go around the island to help anyone who was sick. Photo / Supplied
The clincher though, he calls it, was the fact he had grown up in a household with very little and acknowledged that he wanted to do something to help his family and community.
Tukuitonga was raised by his maternal grandparents, Misihe Fonotau and Sovaleni Tukuitonga, and only spoke Niuean until he learned English at primary school.
"Life was pretty basic subsistence - planting and feeding. My grandfather taught himself to read by reading the Bible. So you learned fairly early not to rely on anyone and to do the best you can."
The family was Catholic, which meant going to Mass "all the time" and growing up wanting social justice for all and feeling the need to help others, he said.
Sir Collin pictured as a baby (held by his mother Vaipipi, second from the left) with family members including his grandparents (also holding babies). Photo / Supplied
The young man did well in school and went on to study at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, and graduated in 1981 as a junior doctor.
He travelled back to Niue to work and has memories of doing "the island round".
"We would drive around the island and see sick people. Families (would) hang out a red flag in front of the house so we would know to stop."
By 1987 he and his young family were back in Suva after being offered a job at the Fiji School of Medicine to teach public health.
Pacific health leaders: Sir Collin Tukuitonga pictured with another respected Pacific doctor and former Cook Islands Prime Minister Dr Joseph "Papa Joe" Williams. Photo / Supplied
But the Fijian coups d'etat that year left Tukuitonga feeling anxious as he had two young children at the time. The family packed up and moved to New Zealand.
Over the years, Tukuitonga has dedicated his life to various roles and causes in a bid to better public health and Pacific health, in particular.
'If you're a Pacific doctor, it's not enough to just be a doctor'
In the 1990s, he was vital in the establishment of the Department of Māori and Pacific Health at the University of Auckland and is the inaugural Associate Dean (Pacific) at the university's Faculty of Medical and Health Science.
He worked as Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community - based in New Caledonia - and is a former chief executive for the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. He also founded the first Pacific community-owned health clinic: The Fono.
In 2006 and 2007, Tukuitonga - an Associate Professor of Public Health and Head of International at Auckland University - started its international health programme.
He held a role for the World Health Organisation in Geneva, from 2003 to 2006, where he developed international policies for the control of non-communicable diseases and was New Zealand's Director of Public Health from 2001 to 2003, leading the national response to the threat of viral illness SARS.
More recently, Tukuitonga has played a huge part in the national Covid-19 response; helping to communicate vital information to Pasifika communities.
"If you're a Pacific doctor, it's not enough to just be a doctor. You have to do a whole range of things... to support your community.
"It's kind of difficult not to get involved when you see the injustice and the inequities that exist in our communities."
On the new recognition, including the title of Sir, he is reflective about what those who raised him would say had they been alive to share this special moment.
"My grandfather was a tough love kind of guy. He would've just said: 'Well done'."
