CENSUS TRENDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22413, 8 May 1936, Page 12

CENSUS TRENDS

WELLINGTON'S GKOWTH TOTAL OF 25 PER CENT AUCKLAND COUNTIES i A DOMINION RECORD A remarkable feature of the interim census returns is the rapid growth of population in the Wellington urban area over the past ten years. The increase amounts to 33,202, or a small fraction over 25 per cent, compared with 18,052, or just under 9.2 per cent, for the Auckland urban area. The following are the Wellington figures:— 193G 1926 Increase Wellington City 118,0<iG 98,893 19,173 Petone .. .. 10.935 9.309 1.626 Lower Hutt . . 15.953 7,9i;2 7.991 Upper Hutt .. 3,865 2,856 1.009 Hutt County .. 8,693 6,712 1,951 Knstbourne .. 2,278 1,845 433 Johnsonville .. 1.740 1.237 443 Makaru County .. 4,305 3,729 576 165,835 132.633 33,202 The table has been compiled on the assumption that of the 12,998 people in the counties of Hutt and Makara, at the recent census, 6000 live without and the remainder within the urban area.

In calculating tlio population of Auckland on a nearly similar basis, it is necessary to include the town districts of Papatoetoe, Manurewa, Papakura. and Howick, which were omitted from a table published on Monday. Certain parts of Manukau and Waitemata Counties possibly ought also to be regarded as within the urban area, but figures regarding them are lacking. However, the additions mentioned increase the total population to 214,522, as compared with 196,460 in 1926. Hutt Valley Industries

Thn reasons for Wellington's rapid growth are to lie found mainly in the establishment of large new industries in the Hutt Valley, a general increase in Government activities, and the removal of the head offices of Dominionwide business concerns to the capital city.

Among the new or enlarged industries at Petone and Lower Hutt are several motor-assembly and body building works, employing hundreds of hands, a soap factory and a tobacco factory. The enlargement and modernisation of the Hutt railway workshops has also contributed. The development of the locality is shown by the census return for the borough of Lower Hutt, which in ten years has doubled its population.

Wellington has also gained by the establishment of many small factories, some of them by oversea manufacturers of proprietary lines. This tendency has been helped, as the growth of the new large industries has been, by cheap hydro-electric power from Mangahao. However, there are still a number of manufactures that have not been undertaken on a large scale in Wellington, notably flourmilling and biscuit and confectionery making. Auckland's Rural Increase Commercial activities of many- kinds tend to make their Dominion headquarters in Wellington. This may be due in part to the increasing concern of the Government with business and the consequent advantage of having a head office within easy reach of Ministers The same applies to non-profit-making societies and organisations of every sort.

if the Auckland urban area has not gone ahead at such a rapid pace, the country districts of the Auckland Province so far show the most rapid population increase in the Dominion, more than double that of any other area except the East Coast. By contrast, the counties of the Wellington Province have the lowest rate of growth in New Zealand.

The following table of percentage increases has been compiled from returns received up to Wednesday of this week, metropolitan areas being excluded:Boroughs and Counties Town Districts North Auckland . . 21.5 9.7 South Auckland and

Bay of Plenty .. '25.4 10.4 East Coast .. 15.4 3.3 Hawke's Bay .. 7.8 1.8 Taranaki .. 6.0 6.1 \yellington .. 3.8 11.7 Nelson and Marlborough .. . . 10.4 11.4 Westland .. .. 9.6 17,5 Canterbury .. 6.8 8.4 Oiago and Southland 6.3 7.7

The percentages for boroughs and town districts include -most of the larger provincial towns. These, with some exceptions, such as Wanganui and Napier, have grown on the average more rapidly than small country towns throughout the Dominion.

GROWTH OF DUNEDIN HAWKE'S BAY COUNTY [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday The following additional preliminary census results have been received from the Census and Statistics Office:— 1936 192G Increase Dunedin City . . 72.144 63,525 8.619 Lake County . . 2,624 1,675 949 "Waimntri County 14,4 T 1 12.050 2,421 Hawke's Bay Cty. 15,768 13,818 1,950 St. Kilda Borough 7,740 7,653 87 Havelock North Town District 1,142 1,050 92 Eyre County . . 1,895 1,871 24

With reference to the Dunedin City and St. Kilda Borough, the figures for 1926 exclude 4100 and 300 respectively, visitors to the exhibition over and above the ordinary level of visitors.