Professor John Moorfield (1943-2018) held a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland, a Master of Education from the University of Wales, and a Doctor of Literature from the University of Otago. He also held RSA/Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults. On completing his teacher education at Auckland Secondary Teachers’ College, John taught in secondary schools for eight years at Ngāruawāhia High School, Wesley College and Tuakau College, before moving to the University of Waikato in 1976 to teach Māori. In 1997, after 21 years at the University of Waikato, he became a professor in the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies of the University of Otago. In 2007, John moved to the Auckland University of Technology, where he continued his research into te reo Māori and language revitalisation within Te Ipukarea Research Institute, until he passed in 2018. John, affectionately known by many in the Māori community as Te Murumāra, is the author of the respected Te Whanake series of Māori-language texts as well as the accompanying Te Whanake online digital resources. John also created Te Aka Māori Dictionary, the most widely used online Māori dictionary and app.