Muru Walters (16 January 1935 – 14 February 2024) was a New Zealand author, master carver, broadcaster, artist,

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop. He was the first Pīhopa (bishop) of Te Pīhopatanga o Te Upoko o Te Ika from his consecration on 7 March 1992 until his retirement in 2018.ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145)

Biography

Muru Walters was born in

Kaitaia Kaitaia () is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a- ...

. He affiliated to the

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...

and

Te Aupōuri Te Aupōuri is the second northernmost Māori iwi (tribal group), located north of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand, a region known as the Te Hiku o te Ika. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. The ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. A talented rugby player, Walters represented New Zealand Māori, and won the

Tom French Cup In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach To ...

for the Māori rugby union player of the year in 1957. He studied at Auckland Teachers' College. After working in arts and crafts education in schools, he became a lecturer in art at Dunedin Teachers' College. In 1980, Walters completed a master's degree on Māori archaeology at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

. He was later a lecturer in Māori Studies at St John's Theological College in Auckland. In October 2020, Walters was made a Life Fellow of Selwyn College Dunedin. Walters died at his home in

Mangawhai Mangawhai is a township at the south-west extent of the Mangawhai Harbour, or Mangawhai Estuary, in Northland, New Zealand. The adjacent township of Mangawhai Heads is 5 km north-east, on the lower part of the harbour. Kaiwaka is 13 ...

on 14 February 2024, at the age of 89.

References

1935 births 2024 deaths Te Rarawa people Te Aupōuri people New Zealand rugby union players Māori All Blacks players New Zealand Māori religious leaders 21st-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand Anglican bishops of Te Upoko o Te Ika University of Otago alumni People from Kaitaia Rugby union fullbacks Northland rugby union players Poverty Bay rugby union players {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1930s-stub