| Honorific Prefix: | Sir |
| Pou Temara | |
| Birth Name: | William Te Rangiua Temara |
| Nationality: | New Zealand |
| Relatives: | Jean Puketapu (aunt) |
| Alma Mater: | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Discipline: | Te Reo Tikanga Māori |
Sir William Te Rangiua "Pou" Temara (born 1948) is a New Zealand academic. He is professor of Māori language and tikanga Māori (practices) at Waikato University[1] and a cultural authority on (oratory), whakapapa (genealogy) and karakia (prayers and incantations). Prior to working at Waikato, he taught at Victoria University of Wellington, where he also studied,[2] and at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.[3]
Temara was born in 1948.[4] He was raised by his grandparents in a Māori language environment in the Ureweras until he was eight years old, when he was sent to an English-language boarding school in Auckland.[5] He is the nephew of Māori language activist Jean Puketapu.[6] His uncle Makarini Temara was on the first Waitangi Tribunal in 1975.[7]
Temara has been a member of the Waitangi Tribunal since 2008 and is currently chair of the Repatriation Advisory Panel at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[8] [9] He is a member of the Tūhoe Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board and chair of Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe within his iwi (tribe), Ngāi Tūhoe. He is a member of the Tekau-mā-rua, having first been appointed by Kīngi Tūheitia.[10]
He was the presenter of Korero Mai, Television New Zealand's first Māori language series.[11]
In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, Temara was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori and education.[12] In the 2021 New Year Honours, he was promoted to Knight Companion.[13] He is a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand.[14]