Huirangi Eruera Waikerepuru (1 April 1929 â 8 April 2020) was a New Zealand MÃÂori language activist and trade unionist of Taranaki and NgÃÂpuhi descent. He was active in the foundation and governance of MÃÂori language radio and television.
Waikerepuru was a key figure in the creation of NgàKaiwhakapà «mau i te Reo MÃÂori (the Wellington MÃÂori Language Board). The board lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal in 1984 to make MÃÂori an official language of New Zealand. In 1986, the tribunal recommended that the language be acknowledged as a taonga (treasure) under Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi. This led to the claim being passed into law with the MÃÂori Language Act 1987, which made MÃÂori an official language, and set up Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo MÃÂori (the MÃÂori Language Commission).
The board went on to establish the MÃÂori-language radio station Te Upoko o te Ika in 1988, which helped establish contemporary MÃÂori broadcasting in New Zealand.
Waikerepuru had a 30-year relationship with the Tertiary Education Union and predecessors, which represents academic and general staff in universities and polytechnics.
Waikerepuru died in Palmerston North on 8 April 2020, aged 91.
In 1995, Waikerepuru was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waikato. In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to MÃÂori.