Wharehuia Milroy
‘Te Wharehuia taught what he knew. The next generation will take it from there and develop the Māori language, develop new knowledge and develop new philosophies.’
Te Wharehuia Milroy of Ngāi Tūhoe was Professor of Māori at the University of Waikato. He was a trustee of the Kōhanga Reo National Trust, and a member of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) and the Waitangi Tribunal.
With Sir Timoti Kāretu and Pou Temara, he established Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, the Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language, a programme which ran from 2004 to 2019.
He was a Companion of the Queen's Service Order (2003) and a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (2012), and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Waikato in 2005.
With Sir Tīmoti Kāretu he published He Kupu Tuku Iho, a book in and about te reo Māori, in 2018.
As his colleague and friend Pou Temara put it, ‘Te Wharehuia taught what he knew. The next generation will take it from there and develop the Māori language, develop new knowledge and develop new philosophies.’