Te Hoiere was the name given by the Māori people to the Pelorus Sounds, the Pelorus River and Maud Island. In Māori tradition, Te Hoiere was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand.

Ngāti Kuia tradition states that their founding tupuna Matua Hautere, a descendant of Kupe, came to Te Waipounamu in his waka Te Hoiere, guided by the kaitiaki (tribal guardian) Kaikaiawaro.