Auckland Passes 300,000 Mark In Population

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 August 1950, Page 2

Auckland Passes 300,000 Mark In Population

Auckland, the most rapidly-devel-oping urban area in the Dominion, now has a population of 308,500. Figures in the current Abstract of Statistics show that Auckland passed the 300,000 mark during the year, when its population increased by 9600. The growth in numbers was greater than that of Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin combined.

Hamilton, with a population of 31,000, has displaced Invercargill (30,900) as the sixth city of the Dominion, and ijs place in importance follows only the main cities and Pair merston North.

The figures in the Abstract of Statistics cover urban areas, and include adjacent boroughs and town districts with principal cities or boroughs. They show the phenomenal growth of Greater Auckland in the past decade. 45,000 in Five Years

In the years between the 1936 census and 1941, Auckland’s population increased by nearly 12,000. The first phase of its main growth occurred during the war, and the 1945 census showed an increase of 40,000 to 263,400 during four years. This rate of increase was almost maintained during the five post-war years, when the total growth was just over 45,000. During the past 14 years, Auckland has grown by 45 per cent., an increase which is exceeded over the full period only by that of Hamilton, 58 per cent. The corresponding figure for Wellington is 22 per cent. During the past year, Auckland’s population increased by 9600. The figure for Wellington was 3400, for Christchurch 3600, and for Dunedin 1300. Although Invercargill’s gain of only 400 'enabled Hamilton, with a gain of 900 to displace it as sixth city, the Waikato centre’s increase was below that 7 of Palmerston North, 1000.

Principal Towns The following table shows populations in the principal urban areas this year and at the 1936 census:-— 1950 1936

Auckland 308,500 212,200 Wellington 193,300 150,000 Christchurch .. 171,500 132,600 Dunedin 91,200 82,000 Palmerston North 32,100 24,100 Hamilton 31,000 19,600 Invercargill 30,900 25,000 Wanganui 28,800 25,800 Hastings 24,000 18,000 New Plymouth 23,800 18,500 Napier 23,600 18,700 Timaru 22,100 18,800 Gisborne 19,200 15,900 Nelson 19,000 13,600