CENSUS FIGURES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2980, 18 January 1917, Page 7

CENSUS FIGURES

MOVEMENT OF POPULATION

: Some, additional figures from tlie returns of tho 1916 census wcro given to a Dominion reporter yesterday by tho Minister of Internal Affairs (tho Hon. <r. W. Russell). Ono of tho features of tho figures is tlio riso of Greater ■Wellington to tho. position of second largest city area in the Dominion, Christcrmrch having fallen to third position.. Auckland retains tho lead by a very large margin. "During last year," said tho Minister, it was resolved to rearrange tho metropolitan areas for tho purpose of vital statistics. After consultation' with tho local authorities in each of -the four centres wo formed metropolitan areas -which included, in addition to tho central borough and tho surrounding boroughs, considorablo areas of rural land adjacent to and contuv gent on tho cities. Tin's change has made it impossiblo to compare the 1916 figures usotully with tho figures secured at the census of 1911.

"The returns that have reached mo show that the populations of tho four metropolitan areas are as follow:—• Auckland 134,099 •' Wellington 95,206 Christchurcb. .:. 92,413 Dunedin 08,729 Under the scheme that was framed last year for the publication of vital statistics, ceitain suburban areas were selected, consisting of the towns of Gisborne, ,Napier, Now Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Nelson, Grey Valley (including Greymouth), Timaru,, and Invercargill. The populations of these areas are as follow:

Wanganjii 19,546 Invercargill 17,870 /Napier 14,743 •' Palmerston North 14,003 . Timaru 13,939 • Gisborno > 12,664 ' Nelson : '9,890 New Plymouth 9,795 Grey Valley. 8,356 The Grey Valley boroughs were included in this column in order .to ,secure, a West Coast district for the purpose of. comparison in. the preparation of the vital statistics.

"Of oven greater interest," added the Minister, "are the figures referring to tho population of the electoral districts. ''Some surprising facts are revealed in ■'the North Island. Ohineniuri, for example, has lost practically 3000 of its population. The Auckland ' East • constituency shows a . reduction of and Auckland Central a loss of 2439. Oroua shows a, decrease of over . 1000, and Masterton of about 600. Marsden remains practically stationary. It has to-be remembered, in the consideration of these i figures, that the districts have sent' many men away ■with the Expeditionary Forces, and these departures may account for the loss in some cases.

"Some big increases have' taken place. Eden has added 7400 persons to its population, and Manukau nearly 6000, and the other electorates in the vicinity of Auckland show .substantial 'increases.. Tho growth of population in the rural districts of Auckland is strongly marked. Tauranga's increase is' about 7000, and the figures show i expansion right down the east coast of the North Island.

"The increases in Wellington include: Hutt, 2700; Wellington Suburbs, over' 3000; Wellington North, 2600; Wellington Central, 720; and Wellington East, over 4000. Wellington South has a decrease of 1600.

"Turning to the South Island, the :West Coast constituencies all show substantial decreases, while Nelson and Wairau have small, increases. . Hurunui and Kaiapbi have decreases; Avon shows an increase of about 1700, and Christchu'rck North a similar advance. ' Christchurch East has lost some 1600, .and Christchurch South and Riccarton (have each a gain of roughly 600. Ellesmere, Otago Central, Dunedin West, ..Dunedin Central, Bruce, Wakatipu, Mataura, and Wallace are among the constituencies. that ■ show decreases. Lyttelton and Timaru show fair growth, while Dunedin South has added 2000 and Invercargill aboui 1200. "The most populous electorate in the North Island is Eden, with 21,651 persons, -while the South Island's largest electorate in-point of population is Dunedin South, with 17,168 persons. Christchurch North and Avon follow close with nearly 17,000."