Te Kopara 79
[3] Te Kopara, Number 79, Gisborne, 31 August, 1920.
‘Iti te Kopara, kai takirikiri ana i runga i te Kahikatea.’
Although the Bellbird is small, he plucks at the Kahikatea. [cf Nga Pepeha 908]
MAORI LANDS.
This is an appropriate time for us Maori to give some thought to the lands left behind by the multitude who have ‘descended to the night.’ First we must look at and be challenged by the report of the Native Land Purchase Board. In 1911 there were 7,137,205 acres of Maori land in Aotearoa. From that year to the present time 1,009,949 acres have been taken by the Crown and 1,339,570 acres have been sold through the Native Land Board, so that the total area of Maori land remaining on 31st March 1920 is 4,787,626 acres.
