Te Matariki (1881) is concerned with land issues in the Gisborne district. The editor advocates retaining land against sale: ‘E rite ana ki tetahi pukapuka e korerotia ana e koutou, i pena taku mohiotanga ki te korero kia koutou i nga whakaaro a nga kaiwhakamate i o koutou whenua’ (23 April 1881: 1) (It will be like a book which you publish, and in that way I will know to report to you the intentions of the destroyers of your lands).  Te Matariki was particularly concerned with attacking the East Coast land dealings of William Lee Rees and Wi Pere (Parkinson and Griffith, 2004: 784).

The subjects reported include:

- disputes concerning land, particularly with the Crown

- an explanation of the new law for land trustees

- advertisements notifying mortgage foreclosure on thousands of acres of land on the East Coast

- a short story for children.

For further information about the newspaper, see P Parkinson and P Griffith, Books in Maori (Auckland: Reed, 2004), S40, pp. 811–813. 

The National Library would like to thank Gail Dallimore for providing information used in essays about Maori newspapers.