For the third time in his life, the 65-year-old University of Otago professor of Māori studies is switching lines and taking on a new career.
Prior to academia, Prof Paterson was a track worker and signal maintainer for New Zealand Railways.
Although he was based in Dunedin, he often worked away from home - from as far away as Ashburton to Bluff.
"We could either go to the pub in the evenings, watch TV, or do something else.
"I decided to use that time productively and started teaching myself te reo Māori out of a book.
"I’m not Māori, but I grew up in Whakatane, which has quite a high Māori population.
"I didn’t really know any Māori language at all - I was as ignorant as anybody - and I just thought it would be a cool thing to do," he said.
His wife had inspired him to study Māori, he said.
He later studied Māori in a night class for a school certificate, then bursary through correspondence school.
He enrolled at the University of Otago and continued his Māori studies.
He completed a bachelor of arts in history and Māori studies, and then went on to a postgraduate diploma in arts and a PhD, both in Māori studies.
On graduating, he worked as a history lecturer at Massey University for two years, before returning to Otago to lecture at Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies in late 2007.
He has since held many roles, including acting dean of the school, acting associate dean (academic) and associate dean (graduate studies) for Te Kete Aronui.
"Sometimes I would be walking around and I would have to pinch myself - how did I end up here?
"It was a life I never really expected. I could easily still be working the railways."
Now that he had turned 65, he would retire at the end of June, he said. He will then be made an emeritus professor in acknowledgement of his contribution to teaching and research and his service to the university.
While the word "retirement" was being bandied about, it was not really retirement, he said.
It was more of another "switch in tracks", he said.
"I’m going to spend more time with my grandchildren, I’m going to continue to teach a paper on the New Zealand Wars, but my actual retirement project is that I’m going to start a vegan cooking channel on YouTube."
