A Life Well Travelled, A Life Well Lived
Diana Moratti - a former Tikipunga High School teacher and Mum of I Have a Dream Navigator, Angie Moselen - has just finished her memoir, sharing stories from a life well lived.
Diana believes that everyone has a story and that stories help people discern right from wrong, help us learn from other's experiences, and build self-belief.
When Diana Moratti began writing her life story, what started as a personal reflection soon became a gift to others. Inspired by her daily drive past the I Have a Dream headquarters in Whangārei and her daughter Angie Moselen’s role as a Navigator for the organisation, Diana chose to offer her book not for sale, but as a way to encourage donations to the I Have a Dream kaupapa that she believes in deeply.
Affectionately known as “Babe”, a nickname given by her sister who couldn’t pronounce her name as a child, Diana describes her life as joyful, adventurous, and full of meaning. She said she often wished she had known more about her own grandparents, and saw storytelling as a way to leave a legacy for her grandchildren, while inspiring future generations to explore the world and embrace its possibilities.
Her memoir, ‘A Life Well Travelled, A Life Well Lived’, traces her journey from early childhood in England to her family’s years on Great Barrier Island after immigrating to Aotearoa, and the many experiences that led her to settle in the North.
After graduating from Teachers College, Diana began teaching at Hukerenui District High School, where she met the father of one of her students, a widower with six children. They eventually married and had two more children, including Angie, before going their separate ways.
She later worked as a relief teacher at Tikipunga High School, teaching a range of subjects including Shakespeare.
As a lifelong educator, Diana has always championed the growth and development of young people. She recalls a former student telling her years later that she never forgot Diana’s words of wisdom: to always be interested, never stop asking questions, and try to have a laugh now and again.
Alongside her teaching, Diana also wrote for the Northern Advocate newspaper. That work led to an interview with Ian Moratti, a Tutukaka craftsman renowned for his Kauri clocks. Their meeting sparked a romance that continues to this day, opening the door to many shared adventures, including travels to Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, the Galapagos Islands, and beyond. Together, they also spent winters on Aore Island in Vanuatu until last year.
Diana drew on emails from that time, along with her lifelong diaries, to help shape her memoir. She also shares fond memories of travelling with her close-knit group of friends, known as the Wild Girls.
She believes stories help people discern right from wrong, learn from others’ experiences, and build self-belief. Her advice to aspiring authors is simple: just go ahead and do it. And to Dreamers, she would say, “Stay true to your beliefs and read widely.”
Diana’s admiration for Martin Luther King Jr.’s legendary ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and message of equality, along with her connection to I Have a Dream through her daughter Angie, inspired her to made the decision to invite donations in lieu of payment for her book.
If you’d like to order a copy of A Life Well Travelled, A Life Well Lived, email diana.moratti@gmail.com or call 09 434 3432 or 021 1185 796.
Instead of a purchase price, Diana encourages readers to support the work being done to inspire dreams and enable futures for our tamariki and rangatahi by donating to I Have a Dream here.
A huge thank you to Diana for sharing your stories and your wisdom and for your generosity in supporting I Have a Dream.
