Muru Walters (born 16 January 1935) is a New Zealand author, master carver, broadcaster, artist, former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

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 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) Walters was born in

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

. He affiliates to the

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Rūnanga and marae Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae: *Korou Kore Marae, ''Ahipara'', represents the hapū of Ng� ...

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. Te Reo ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

. 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 ...

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 The Dunedin College of Education (''Te Kura Akau Taitoka'', also known as ''Dunedin Teachers' College'') was a former teacher training college in Dunedin, New Zealand. Founded in 1876, the college was the oldest teacher training college in New Zeal ...

. 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.

References

1935 births Living people 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 {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1930s-stub