| Angela Ballara | |
| Birth Name: | Heather Angela Devitt |
| Birth Date: | 16 August 1944 |
| Birth Place: | Kent, England |
| Death Place: | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Spouse: | Bruno Ballara |
| Children: | 6 |
| Alma Mater: | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Thesis1 Title: | Warfare and government in Ngapuhi tribal society, 1814–1833 : institutions of authority and the function of warfare in the period of early settlement, 1814–1833, in the Bay of Islands and related territories |
| Thesis1 Url: | https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/5920 |
| Thesis1 Year: | 1973 |
| Thesis2 Title: | The Origins of Ngati Kahungunu |
| Thesis2 Url: | https://tewaharoa.victoria.ac.nz/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma992256414002386&context=L&vid=64VUW_INST:VUWNUI&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=all&lang=en |
| Thesis2 Year: | 1991 |
| Discipline: | History |
| Sub Discipline: | New Zealand Māori history |
Heather Angela Ballara (née Devitt; 16 August 1944 – 17 September 2021) was a New Zealand historian who specialised in Māori history. She was appointed a member of the Waitangi Tribunal in 2004.[1] After a short break, she was reappointed to the role in 2015.
She was born on 16 August 1944,[2] and studied at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1969, and a Master of Arts in history in 1973.[3] Her master's thesis had the title Warfare and government in Ngapuhi tribal society, 1814–1833: institutions of authority and the function of warfare in the period of early settlement, 1814–1833, in the Bay of Islands and related territories.[4] She later completed a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington in 1991 on the origins of Ngāti Kahungunu.[5] An authority on Māori customary history, Ballara was the editorial officer (Māori) for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography for 15 years.[6]
Ballara died in Wellington on 17 September 2021, aged 77.[7]