Nō te 9 o Mei 1885 i whānau ai a Pita Te Tūruki Tāmati Moko ki Rotorua, hei tamaiti mā Tāmati Moko rāua ko tana wahine, ko Rāwinia Te Whau Wharetutu. Ko Ngāti Whakaue o Te Arawa te iwi matua o Pita Moko nei, ēngari i whai pānga anō ia ki a Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Ngāi Te Rangi. I kuraina ia ki te Kura o Rotorua, ā, i muri mai ki te Kura o Tīpene (St Stephen's Native Boys' School) i Panēra (Parnell), wāhi o Ākarana (Auckland). I ēnei kura ka tino matatau ia ki te reo Pākehā me te reo Māori hoki. Nō muri mai noho ana he kaihoko whenua tāna mahi i Rotorua. I te 24 o Ākuhata 1912, i Whanganui, ka moe a Pita Moko i a Roka Waiāria Tīhema. He wahine tēnei nō ngā iwi o Whanganui me Ngāti Tama hapū o Ngāti Tūwharetoa. I tana hainatanga ki te haere hei hōia ki te Pakanga Tuatahi i te tau 1915, he kaiwhakahaere kōmihana tāna ake mahi i Taihape i taua wā. I Īhipa me Uropi a Pita Moko e hōia ana, ā, eke atu ana ia ki te tūranga o te haihana meiha. Nā te taotū, te māuiui rānei i hoki mai ia ki te kāinga, ā, ka whakawāteatia mai ia i te mahi hōia i te tau 1916.
Ko te āhua nei nō te tau 1920 i whakatahuritia ai e Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana a Moko ki tana kaupapa, ā, nuku atu i te tekau tau tana roa kāore i tawhiti atu i a Rātana. Mehemea ko Rātana te Māngai (waha kōrero) o te Atua, ko Moko te māngai o Rātana ki te ao whānui kōrero Pākehā. Nā te mea he noho wehe kē te noho a te Māngai, riro kē ana nā Moko i whakaatu te āhua o Rātana ki ngā kairīpoata me te hunga pākiki.
Ki tā te ao titiro mai ki a ia i tēnei wā ko ia te hēkeretari a Rātana, ko tana kaiwhakahaere kē rānei. Nāna te mahi ki te whakautu i ngā reta e hia rau kē nei e tae ake ana ki Rātana Pā, whāia ka nuku atu hoki te nui i muri i te whakaoranga ā-reta a Rātana ki a Fanny Lammas i te marama o Maehe 1921. Tirohia ana ngā whakautu a Moko e te Māngai, ā, māna anō hoki e haina. I te mutunga o te tau 1921, i riro nā Moko kē, ehara i a Rātana, i whakaatu ki te perehi kei te pōwhiritia ngā tohunga Māori e mau tonu ana te mana kia whakarauika mai ki te hui Kirihimete a Rātana. Ko tāna hoki mō taua hui, he whakakore atu i ngā mahi katoa a ngā tohunga Māori, i whakamutu atu hoki i ngā 'akoranga tauiwi' i waenganui i te hunga Māori.
I te marama o Maehe 1924, ka riro nā Moko i whakarite te taiāwhiotanga a Rātana i te ao. Ko te kaupapa o tēnei haere, he kawe atu i te māramatanga o te Māngai me te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te Whakakitenga mō te Emepaea o Peretānia (British Empire Exhibition), he mea whakatū ki Wembley. Rua tekau mā toru ngā tāne i te tira haere, tekau mā ono ngā wāhine, ā, ko Moko rāua ko tana wahine, ko Waiāria anō hoki i roto i taua rōpū. Riro ana nā Waiāria rāua ko Te Urumanaao, te wahine a Tahupōtiki Rātana, me te wahine anō a Tokouru Rātana, me Rīpeka i tiaki ngā wāhine kōhine. Rahua ana te mahi a Moko ki te tango mai i ngā pukapuka uruwhenua mā te rōpū nei. I tana tuhinga atu ki te Minita Māori, ki a Te Kōti (Gordon Coates) mō te take nei, heipū te whakaatu mai, me waiho rawa e ia ngā moni haere me ngā utu mō ngā wāhi noho ki te Tari Taiwhenua (Department of Internal Affairs) i mua i te wehenga atu. Whakaaro pono tonu nei a Moko, he mea āta mahi mai ēnei taunahua moni e te kāwanatanga i runga i ngā whakahau a ngā Māori e parahako ana ki te kaupapa a Rātana.
Nāwai ā nō te marama o Āperira i wehe atu ai te tira. Haria ana e Moko he pukapuka me ētehi atu whakaaturanga hei tautoko i te kerēme a Rātana mō tana kaha ki te whakaora tangata. Mā runga i te tima Barrabool rātau i rere atu ai ki Rānana (London). I tō rātau hokinga mai i runga i te kaipuke rā, i te Niagara i Tīhema, i pāpouri ngā kōhine o te tira i ngā mahi a ētehi pāhihi tāne Pākehā. Nā ēnei kōtiro te mahi waiata poi, waiata ā-ringa hoki hei mahi moni mō te kaupapa o Rātana. Mekea ana e Moko tētehi o ngā tāne nei, ēngari i te āhua nei kāore ia i whiua ki te ture.
I Rānana, tukua ana e Moko tana amuamu ki te hunga pāpāho nā te kaha o te tūkinotia o rātau i Wembley, i kore ai rātau i whakaae ki te toro i te whare whakaaturanga o Niu Tīreni. Otirā, i kite tonu atu rātau i te whare whakairo, i a Mātaatua e whakaaturia ana i reira; ki tā Moko hoki, hāwhe noa te wāhanga o te whare i mahia i runga i te tikanga Māori. Hei tāna anō, kitea ana i te whakaaturanga nei te whakaaro o ētehi e kī ana kei raro noa atu te iwi Māori i ērā atu o ngā iwi tangata whenua o te ao. I whakamātautau a Moko ki te whakatakoto i te petihana a te tira mō ngā takahanga i te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te aroaro o te kāwanatanga o Peretānia, i tukuna atu (he pānui pono tōna tikanga) i te taha o ētehi koha atu ki te Piriniha o Wēra. He mea hoatu ki a ia ēnei koha i tētehi hui whakangahau i whakatūria rā ki rō kāri. Heoi anō, nā te mea kāore i whakaaetia, whakahokia mai ana ngā koha me te pānui. Nō te aukatitanga a ngā kaiwhakahaere koroni i tēnei huarahi mau i te tohe, tū ana a Moko ki te kauwhau i tana take i ētehi hui tūmatanui. I a Rātana e noho ana i Pārihi (Paris), haere kē ana a Moko ki te ārahi i tētehi rōpū ki Hinīwa (Geneva) i runga i te tūmanako ka āhei rātau ki te whakatakoto i te petihana nei ki te aroaro o te Rīki o ngā Iwi o te Ao (League of Nations). Ēngari, ko te mate kē he kore nō te Rīki i te noho huihui i taua wā. Hei kōrero mā Moko i tō rātau hokinga mai ki Aotearoa nei, ko te mea i tino wero i te hinengaro o te rōpū a Rātana, ko te noho kino a te hunga pōhara i Peretānia.
I te wā e ngaro ana rātau i tāwāhi, i whakatūria te Kotahitanga Rātana tuatahi. Kāhore a Pita Moko i whakaurua atu, ā, kāhore hoki ia i meinga hei āpotoro i te kāhititanga o te hāhi hou nei, o te Hāhi Rātana. Heoi anō, haere tahi tonu ai a Moko rāua ko Rātana, ko ia rā te kaiāwhina matua, kaiwhakarite hoki i ngā haere a Rātana huri noa i te motu, kawe haere ai i ana whakatakanga wairua. Ka haere tonu ngā kōrero a Moko mō ngā whakaoranga merekara i tutuki i a Rātana, ahakoa anō te kōrero a te Māngai kua kore kē i a ia tērā mana.
Nō te tau 1925, i tautokona e Moko tētehi mōtini e whakahau ana ko te mahi tuatahi o ngā mahi katoa i te pā o Rātana ko tērā o te hanga temepara. Mai i te marama o Pēpuere 1926, i noho ai a Moko hei hēkeretari āwhina i te komiti waihanga i te temepara. Riro mai ana hoki ngā mahere, ā, hei whakamāmā i ngā utu, nō te marama o Maehe te whakatau a te komiti me riro mā ngā mōrehu e mahi ngā mahi, noho ake i raro i te whakahaere a ngā Pākehā tokorua, he tohunga nei rāua ki te hanga whare. I te taenga atu ki te marama o Mei, whakatauria ana mā te Māngai e hoahoa te whare, i runga i ngā tohutohu a te Atua. E ai ki te whakapae a New Zealand Truth, kua oti kē te hoatu e te kaiwhakahoahoa nei o Whanganui, e Clifton Hood, ana hoahoa ki a Moko; e ai ki te whakarite o te hoahoa, £7,000 te utu mō te hanga i te temepara. Pai ana ki a Moko te tauira, ā, pupuritia ana e ia ngā hoahoa kia whakaaetia ai e Rātana. Nō muri i whakahokia atu e Moko ngā hoahoa, ēngari kore rawa a Hood i whiwhi i te kōmihana. Nō te hanganga o te temepara, puta ana te whakapae a Hood he mea whakamahi e ngā tāngata o Rātana ētehi o ngā kaupapa nāna nei i whakatauira, ā, ko te toenga atu he mea whakarerekē iti nei. Hāmenetia ana a Moko rāua ko Rātana ki te utu i te moni £250 te nui, ā, ko te mutunga mai whakawākia ana e te kōti £130 te moni hei utu mā rāua.
Nō te tau 1928, i whakaū ai a Rātana i tōna whakaaro nui kia wāhia tōna tinana kia whā ngā koata me te whakaīngoa hoki i ētehi taitama tokowhā nei hei kaiwhakataetae māna i te pōti o 1928. Noho kē ana āna tāngata hei 'takawaenga', arā, tū wehe kē mai ana i ngā whakarōpūpū tōrangapū. Nō te marama o Oketopa, i huaina e Rātana ngā īngoa o ngā tāngata nei, ā, meinga ana ko Moko te kaiwhakataetae mō te rohe pōti o Te Tai Rāwhiti. He mea whakahua anō e Rātana me whai tonu rātau i te kaupapa e hāngai pū ana ki te Tiriti o Waitangi, whakawhiwhi i te iwi Māori ki te mana motuhake, whakatau anō hoki i ngā raruraru i puta mai i mua, i muri hoki i te hainatanga o te Tiriti. I te pōti i Noema, tino uaua ana te kōkirikiri a Moko i a Apirana Ngata. Heoi, o ngā tokotoru nā rātau i whakataetae te tūranga nei, noho tuarua ana ko Moko. Autaia tonu te pōti i riro i a Moko, arā, 1,846 te nui. I whakatūria anō ia hei kaiwhakataetae i te pōti o te tau 1931. I te wā e kōkiritia ana te pōti nei, tukua ana e Paraire Tōmoana tana waea pānui ki a Rātana e whakahau ana i a ia kia mau tonu tana whakaute i a Ngata, me te unu hoki i a Moko i tōna tūranga whakataetaetanga. Ahakoa anō 1,994 te nui o ngā pōti i riro i a Moko, tino mate ana ia i a Ngata, e 3,211 kē te nui atu o ngā pōti a tērā.
Tino kino ana te pāmamaetanga o Rātana ka hinga nei āna kaiwhakataetae tokowhā, ā, pū ana tōna whakaweti ka mahue i a ia ngā mahi tōrangapū. Heoi anō, i te rironga o te rohe pōti Māori o Te Tai Tonga i a Eruera Tirikātene, kātahi ka tino pūmau te aro mai o Rātana ki ngā mahi Pāremata, mahi tōrangapū. Whanake tahi ana a Rātana rāua ko Tirikātene ki Pōneke (Wellington), tīmata ana te kōrero mārika ki te Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa. Kātahi ka whakanōhia ake e Rātana a Paraire Paikea rāua ko tāna tama, ko Tokouru Rātana, hei kaiāwhina mā Tirikātene. Kore rawa i whai wāhi a Moko ki ēnei mahi, mahue noa ana ia. Ka nui haere te kore hiahia o Rātana ki a Moko, te tangata i matea nuitia e ia i tōna wā, pakaru mai ana te riri i waenganui i ngā tokorua nei i te pokapū o te tau 1933. E ai ki te whakapae a te whanaunga o Moko, a te minita rā, a W. Te R. Pareiha (Fraser), tērā tētehi 'rōpū āpitihana' i Rātana Pā, ā, ko rāua anō ko Moko nō taua rōpū. Ko tā rātau i tino māharahara ai, ko te mahi a Rātana ki te wete mai i te kaupapa Karaitiana i te Hāhi Rātana. Whakarārangitia ana e Pareiha ētehi o ngā tikanga Karaitiana kua whakarērea kētia e te Māngai, ā, kitea ana hoki te tika o ētehi o āna whakapae i ngā whakaakoranga a Rātana i tāia ki roto i te nūpepa o te hāhi, i Te Whetū Mārama o Te Kotahitanga. Ēngari, ko ētehi o ngā whakapae anō kāore i tika, ā, kāore i kōrerotia e te nūpepa. Mārama ana te kite ko te take o te riri nei ko te whakarerenga a te Māngai i te mārena tapatahi, me ngā kōhimuhimu e huri haere ana mō tōna hiahia ki te moe wahine anō. Koia tēnei te take i tino riri ai a Moko, e ai ki tana whakapae, he mahi rūkahu noa te mahi a te Māngai. I tētehi hui anō i te 21 o Oketopa 1933, huaina ana e Patu Te Rito te whakaaro kia kimihia mai anō he kaiwhakataetae hou mō Te Tai Rāwhiti. Whakaae ana a Rātana, ā, ka whakanōhia ko Tiaki Ōmana hei kaiwhakataetae i te tau 1935.
Nō muri mai i tāna tohetohe ki a Rātana, i noho tonu a Moko rāua ko tana wahine ki Rātana Pā mō ētehi tau, ēngari tangohia katoatia ōna tūranga i roto i te Hāhi. I mate a Waiāria i te tau 1941; e ai ki te kōrero, kotahi tā rāua tama (kāhore ōna uri), ā, kotahi hoki tā rāua tama whāngai. Nō muri mai pea i te matenga o Waiāria, i hoki atu ai a Pita Moko ki Ōhinemutu, mate ake ana ki reira i te 8 o Hune 1943. He Mihingare te minita i tōna tanumanga.