THE CHEAPEST TOWN

Evening Star, Issue 19409, 18 November 1926, Page 3

THE CHEAPEST TOWN

v “ SOME PRICES COMPARED DUNEDIN TO THE FORE Auckland is not the cheapest place in which to live—not by a long way (says the Auckland ‘Star'). Any housewife with a head for figures would come to that conclusion if she spent half an hour conning the tables of current retail prices in the four Now Zealand centres, as compiled by the Government Statistician in the ‘ Abstract of Statistics ’ for October. All things considered, Dunedin seems to be the most attractive town for those who worship ai the shrine of the god Economy; and Christchurch, all the grumbling about high railage costs caused by Lyttelton tunnel notwithstanding, would appear to 1 bo a good second. Of course, the Government Statistician is a cautious man. Ho is at pains to preface his tables with the statement that “prices arc not strictly comparable between one town and another, for the reason that the prices quoted, of which the published priced is an average, are for the brand, packing, etc., of which the greatest quantity is sold by individual traders supplying returns.” Still, there is no other means by which New Zealanders may arrive at an accurate estimate of prices, and for the purposes of this article the official figures are taken for what they are worth. THE GROCERY BILL. Bread is the first item in the tables. The searcher finds that the Dunedin housewife can buy a 21b loaf for 6|d, while her Christchurch sister must pay id more. But in Auckland a loaf costs 7,(d, as it does in 'Wellington. On this item'alone the Dunedin shopper can save about del a week. Factory-made butter swings the scale in favor of Auckland, however, for it is l|d per lb cheaper hero than in the Porridge town. Potatoes are shown ns being dearer in Auckland by Id per lb. Groceries would appear to be more expensive all round. Take oatmeal. The Dunedin price is quoted at 2s 4d for 71b, whereas the local price is 2s lOd. Cornflour at 8d is nearly twice as dear as it is in Dunedin. Twenty-five lb of flour costs 6s 7(d in Auckland as compared with 6s 3Jd in Dunedin, while the Christchurch buyer can get the same quantity for 6s 2,id. Wine biscuits, rice, coffee essence, cocoa, honey, raisins, dried prunes and apricots, tinned salmon, sardines, salt, pepper, mustard, and washing powder—a few' items which are to be found in every household pantry—are all set out as being more expensive to the Auckland purchaser than they are ;to the canny shopper in Dunedin, The Queen City scores on several important I items, such as tea and sugar, but the balance is against her. CHEAP MEAT IN AUCKLAND. Milk is dearer hero than in the south, but other items of dairy produce are either a little cheaper or approximately I the same. Aucklanl is a cheap retail market for meat of all kinds and pork goods. Vegetables are dearer. Cauliflowers are quoted at lOd in Auckland and 6d in Dunedin, while there is a difference of 3d in the price of cabbages. Fresh groper is 2d cheaper in the southern city. There are big discrepancies under the heading of fuel and light. Kitchen coal is listed at 15s 9d in Dunedin. Household coal in Auckland costs 13s. Locally 4s 3d must be paid for a sack of coke, although it costs only 3s 9d in the south. Gas for cooking is more expensive, too. For 1,000 cubic feet the Dunedin dweller pays only 6s 3d, while the Auckland price is 7s. There is the same margin on gas for lighting. | Where the Cathedral City housewife scores heavily on her Auckland sister is in the realm of electricity for household purposes. The Government Statistician allows twenty-three units as the monthly consumption for a five-roomed house. Seven of these units are allowed for lighting, and sixteen for other purposes. On this basis the monthly bill for electricity would be 3s lOd in Christchurch, 4s 8d in Dunedin, 6s 2d in Wellington,, and 8s lOd in Auckland, so that locally wo have to pay more than twice as much as is paid in Christchurch^ _ Turning right away from the question of household expenses to the matter of clothing and drapery, there arc some equally astonishing comparisons to he made. The ‘ Abstract ’ shows that a man may buy an imported suit for 45s in Dunedin, whereas the Aucklander is asked 97s 3d 1 Perhaps the average Aucklander is more extravagant than the Scots of the Southern burg,’ and it may bo that he dresses better, but whatever the reason there is the big difference, and the gap comes little the nearer to being bridged when the item “ New Zealand suits ’’ is examined. The Dunedin price is 78s Id, as against 93s 9d in Auckland, while Christchuch can outbid her southern neighbor by 2s. Raincoats are quoted at 80s in Auckland and only 68s in Dunedin. _ Sergos, gaberdines, silks, and prints are all sbowm as being less expensive in Auckland than they are in the less sunny ■ clime. Dunedin undercuts Auckland on every item of men’s and boys’ underwear, but women’s underwear is cheaper here. Dunedin charges less for blankets, hut the shops there don’t compete with Auckland in other household materials, such as sheeting and towelling. BUT WE BEAT THEM ON BOOTS. Auckland holds a big advantage under the heading of footwear, so that a man with a large family would he better off here than he would in Dunedin, if his youngsters were hard on shoes, and whose kiddies are not? Light, medium quality boots are quoted at 19s 5d in Auckland, 31s 9d in Wellington, 27s 6d in Christchurch, and 25s 4d in Dunedin. /Heavy boots are listed at 19s 9d locally, as against 2.7 s lOd in the city of the_ south. There is a difference of 10s in the price of light shoes for women. Children’s footwear is cheaper in Auckland by a few shillings per pair. Prices for repairs are very similar. Household furnishings and ironmongery would appear to he a little cheaper in Dunedin, taken on the whole. Mon in the South Island pay Is 3cl for a haircut, as compared with Is 6d in Wellington and Auckland. Laundry charges, another item under the head of personal expenditure, appear to he the same throughout the dominion. There is little difference in tram fare rates, though here, again. Dunedin heats Auckland by a fraction of a penny on the average fare over all routes. Wellington lias the highest tramway fares.