E hāngai ana te aronga o Te Matariki (1881) ki ngā take whenua i te rohe o Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa. E kauwhau tonu ana te ētita kia puritia te whenua, kia kaua e hokona: ‘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 Aperira 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).  I tino aronui Te Matariki ki ngā mahi hokohoko whenua a William Lee Rees rāua ko Wi Pere i Te Tai Rāwhiti (Parkinson rāua ko Griffith, 2004: 784).

Ko ētahi o ngā kaupapa i kōrerotia:

- he tautohe mō te whenua, otirā ki te Karauna

- he whakamārama mō te ture hou mō ngā kaitiaki whenua

- he pānui whakamōhio i ngā hokonga whakahau i raro i ngā mōkete, i te hia mano eka whenua i Te Tai Rāwhiti

- he pūrākau poto mā te tamariki.

Mō ētahi atu mōhiotanga mō te niupepa tirohia P Parkinson rāua ko P Griffith, Books in Maori (Auckland: Reed, 2004), S23, wh. 783–784. 

E hiahia ana te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa ki te mihi ki a Gail Dallimore mōna i tuku kōrero mai i whakamahia i roto i ngā tuhinga roa mō ngā niupepa Māori.

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.