In his native Ceylon, Tim Koelmeyer and his family belonged to the ethnic group known as Burghers, a combination of Portuguese, Dutch, English and Sinhalese influences who formed a respected group in the country which has become Sri Lanka. His boyhood and family life were spent in Galle, Jaffna and Colombo, where he entered Medical School and trained to become a surgeon.

But the country was changing as the newly emergent Sinhalese nationalism began to transform Sri Lankan society and government. The tide was turning against the Burghers, who were Christians, and it was time to leave. Covert and overt discrimination that we had been subjected to left painful scars in my memory,’ Koelmeyer writes. ‘I did not visit the country of my birth for fifteen years.’

Sri Lanka’s loss was New Zealand’s gain. Tim and Mary Ann Koelmeyer arrived in New Zealand in 1972 and each began distinguished medical careers. His first job was as a registrar at Middlemore Hospital and he completed his formal surgical training at Greenlane Hospital. Later Koelmeyer trained as a pathologist and became one of the country’s leading forensic pathologists, widely respected within the medical world. At an early stage he was involved in the identification of bodies following the Mt Erebus crash and during his distinguished career acted as a pathologist in many high-profile legal cases. Many are described in fascinating detail in this book. A Life in Two Lands is the story of Tim Koelmeyer’s life and work.

His unique teaching methods were centered on postmortem examinations and resulted in the dedicated voluntary attendees forming and christening Breakfast Club’. This is now legend among many doctors in New Zealand, Australia and beyond. Curiously, surgeons feature prominently in the ranks of the ‘clubbers’.