Te Hana Hudson (previously Kahu) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Vanessa Rare for three stints between 2001 and 2006.

The matriarch of the Hudson family unit, Te Hana was introduced during an infamous revamp of the show and was a representation of the working class New Zealander.

[1][4] The Hudson's arrival was said to be a "shock" for the established character of Te Hana's brother, Victor Kahu (Calvin Tuteao).

Te Hana arrived with her family for a fresh start but she grew annoyed at her brother Victor's (Calvin Tuteao) attempts to break up her marriage to Joe Hudson (Rawiri Paratene).

She was delighted to welcome her foster daughter Shannon (Amber Curreen) back into her life but discovered she was pregnant to her teenage son Tama Hudson (David Wikaira-Paul).

After being delegated the position of charge nurse while Judy (Donogh Rees) was assigned to office work by Andrew Solomon (Paolo Rotondo), Te Hana took a break before returning.

"[6] The inclusion of the Hudson family did however bring on a more appropriately balanced amount of Māori culture into the soap both on and offscreen.