Barclay-Kerr, Hoturoa is a Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Waikato and the captain of the ocean-going waka Haunui. He was born on December 18, 1960, in Auckland, New Zealand.

Hoturoa was raised in Ruatoki, Waikato, a small town near Whakatane, on the North side of the north island. It was one of the last districts in New Zealand where people spoke Māori as a matter of everyday life. His parents, Wharetoroa and Ngarungatapu Kerr, were teachers. Wharetoroa Kerr was one of the first people from Hoturoa's tribe to get a University degree. Hoturoa grew up with his numerous elders who nurtured and cared for him. He is a native Māori speaker and spent the first six years of his life with the Tuhoe people in Ruatoki, where his parents taught at the Rūātoki District High School. When he was six years old, his family moved to Auckland, where he learned the English language. Hoturoa recalls how the children laughed and mocked him for his inability to speak English when he started school in Auckland. He was educated at Onehunga High School and went on to study for a BA at the University of Auckland, and for Masters at the Waikato University. His Master’s thesis investigated the Māori as a symbol of mana in the twenty-first century.

Kerr was a lecturer at the Waikato University for over nineteen years. More recently he has specialized in education and leadership programs that use the waka as a platform for learning and development. ^[-1]

Waka expert, Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr is well known in the Pacific for his passion for navigating the seas in the traditional way. Hoturoa is a leading innovator in Maori Voyaging. Hoturoa has been sailing canoes for more than 30 years working and training young people on the water. He worked for over 45 years on the war canoes of Dame Te Ata.

For his contributions towards all art forms pertaining to Waka Moana, Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr won an award of Te Waka Toi Awards in Rotorua in 2016. Last year marks the awards 30th year celebrating Māori art practitioners.

Hoturoa is married to Kim Kerr.

They have five children: Namaka, Turanga, Rangiiria, Noenoe and Hinemanu.