Sir Pou Temara, Towering Figure in Māori Language Revival, Dies at 78

Sir William Te Rangiua Pou Temara has died aged 78. His death was announced on November 8, 2026, and his whānau confirmed it on the morning of Sunday, November 8, 2026, New Zealand time.

Stuff described Sir Pou Temara as a towering figure in the Māori language revival. His death was also reported by the New Zealand Herald and Te Ao Māori News. The cause of death was not made public, and details of his tangihanga were still to be confirmed at the time of the first reports.

A life in te reo Māori

Sir Pou was a Ngāi Tūhoe scholar, tohunga and educator who dedicated his life to protecting te reo Māori and preserving tikanga. He was a cultural authority on whaikōrero, or oratory, on whakapapa, or genealogy, and on karakia, or prayers and incantations.

He taught te reo Māori and tikanga in New Zealand universities for more than 43 years. He taught at Victoria University of Wellington and at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, became professor of Māori language and tikanga Māori at the University of Waikato, and was latterly professor of Māori philosophy at Awanuiārangi.

With Sir Tīmoti Kāretu and Dr Te Wharehuia Milroy, he founded Te Panekiretanga o te Reo Māori, the Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language. The institute trained speakers to a high standard in te reo, whaikōrero, karanga and tikanga. He presented Kōrero Mai, Television New Zealand's first Māori language series.

His books in te reo Māori won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Māori language award, Te Mūrau o te Tuhi, twice. Te Rautakitahi o Tūhoe ki Ōrākau won in 2024, and Te Āhua o Ngā Kupu Whakaari a Te Kooti won in 2026, making him the first person to win the award twice.

Early life in Te Urewera

William Te Rangiua Temara was born on April 21, 1948, in the Ruatāhuna valley in Te Urewera. He was a member of Ngāi Tūhoe. He was the son of George Te Umuariki Temara, a Second World War veteran of the 28th Māori Battalion, and Puti Tinimēne.

As his mother's first child, he was raised by her parents, Tamahou Tinimēne and Pareraututu, in line with Māori practice at the time. From about ten months old, he lived with them in a small clearing in the Te Urewera forest, and he spoke only Māori in his early childhood. He returned to Ruatāhuna at eight, attended Huiarau Native School and learned English for the first time. At 15, he went to Wesley College in Auckland as a boarder. He later trained as a teacher in Wellington and studied at Victoria University of Wellington.

Public roles and honours

Sir Pou was a member of the Waitangi Tribunal from 2008. He chaired the Repatriation Advisory Panel at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, which advises on the return of Māori and Moriori ancestral remains. In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and education. In the 2021 New Year Honours, he was promoted to Knight Companion of the same order. His investiture took place at Government House in Wellington on May 6, 2021. In 2024, Victoria University of Wellington awarded him an honorary doctorate, a Doctor of Literature.