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of the land available under this heading totals 100,000 acres. Summarizing thesefigures, we arrive at the position that 75,000 acres are available for early settlement, and only 169,000 acres capable of development but which could not be available for a number of years. These estimates are subject to correction when the present detailed survey is completed. An estimate of the land required for the rehabilitation of returned soldiers totals 1,200,000 acres. Hence, if these soldiers are to be settled, it is obvious that existing occupied land will have to be purchased, since there is only 244,000 acres of Crown land available and suitable for settlement. Relevant to this discussion is the possibility of subdividing existing holdings so that further population could be absorbed. It is therefore of interest to examine the history of any change in the size of land holdings. The following two tables show over a period of years, first, the number of acres involved, and, secondly, the percentage distribution of these holdings according to acreage. These figures do not include holdings of less than 1 acre, land in boroughs, or land held on the Maori communal system.
Table No. 69.—Table showing Number of Acres in Holdings of various Sizes at Selected Years from 1878 to 1941
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Area of Holdings, 1878. ■ 1881. 1886. 1891. 1896. 1900-01. 1905-06. in Acres. 1- 10 .. 27,394 27,629 42,566 52,467 69,626 71,387 79,926 10- 50 .. 175,772 197,204 219,418 254,716 316,493 320,158 324,375 50- 100 .. 311,346 346,502 390,743 435,263 548,035 556,868 591,209i 100- 200 .. 669,455 785,019 904,350 1,028,751 1,369,170 1,389,120 1,514,084 200- 320 .. 525,606 632,714 826,516 1,013,319 1,387,431 1,493,761 1,692,824 320- 640 . .* 845,170 1,015,378 1,276,021 1,717,746 2,449,451 2,772,325 3,306,475 640- 1,000 .. 589,634 672,121 787,335 1,058,461 1,486,693 1,843,235 2,220,149 1,000-5,000 .. 1,982,186 2,307,407 2,975,095 3.,425,185 4,929,539 5,715,047 6,955,310 5,000-10,000 .. 1,196,951 1,379,833 1,617,887 1,768,799 2,422,197 2,591,497 2,874,562: 10,000-20,000 .. 2,018,661 2,368,448 2,519,168 2,699,404 3,293,706 3,272,741 3,278,498: 20,000-50,000 .. 2,923,876 3,284,287 3,070,560 3,340,931 4,913,228 5,417,990 5,273,472 50,000 and over 1,313,021 2,183,311 2,447,417 2,602,487 10,126,643 9,467,444 9,056,576 Total 12,579,072 15,206,897 17,077,074 19,397,529 33,312,212 34,911,573 37,167,460 Area of Holdings, 1910-11. 1916. 1920. 1925. 1930. 1935. 1941.* in Acres. . 1- 10 .. 81,397 69,390 72,191 73,700 56,030 51,162 52,525 10- 50 .. 335,056 358,726 376,722 405,650 354,963 372,315 374,038. 50- 100 .. 618,980 708,228 780,437 887,840 814,829 878,596 925,878. 100- 200 .. 1,628,608 1,812,196 1,942,252 2,118,701 2,118,963 2,247,660 2,330,867 200- 320 .. 1,818,087 2,054,917 2,186,233 2,265,477 2,350,763 2,387,045 2,476,209320- 640 .. 3,872,809 4,355,985 4,641,779 4,735,425 4,676,166 4,620,674 4,614,325. 640- 1,000 .. 2,931,721 3,149,598 3,301,292 3,425,566 3,394,215 3,300,499 3,307,731 1,000-5,000 .. 9,388,126 10,366,504 11,305,733 11,477,823 11,844,345 11,592,077 11,517,582 5,000-10,000 .. 3,525,514 3,593,266 3,824,623 3,905,686 3,740.004 3,805,689 3,707,175 10,000-20,000 .. 3,751,346 3,880,927 4,235,689 4,242,147 4,251,895 4,110,362 4,133,400 20,000-50,000 .. 4,157,740 5,126,470 5,371,215 5,139,745 4,942,770 4,549,725 4,406,409 50,000 and over 8,128,742 5,785,986 5,434,913 4,954,612 4,823,710 5,188,775 5,042,198 Total 40,238,126 41,262,193 43,473,079 43,632,372 43,368,653 43,104,559 42,888,337 * Latest figure available.